1861 50C CSA Restrike MS(PCGS#340402)

March 2021 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4205

等级

MS62

价格

67,035

详细说明

Popular J.W. Scott Confederate Half Dollar Restrike "1861" (1879) Confederate Half Dollar. Scott Restrike. Breen-8002. MS-62 (PCGS). A handsomely toned piece, the obverse exhibits rich steel-gray, cobalt blue and deep rose peripheral color around an antique golden-olive center. For the reverse we note steel-blue peripheral highlights to dominant silver-mauve patina. The latter side is expectably sharp for the type, while the obverse exhibits typical softness, but with all major design elements appreciable. Seized by Louisiana when that state seceded from the Union in 1861, the New Orleans Mint eventually passed under the control of the Confederate States of America. After that happened, Southern authorities made an attempt at coinage that displayed a design distinct to the new Confederacy. Accordingly, four half dollars were struck combining the familiar Liberty Seated motif of Union coinage with a new reverse design that includes, among other elements, the legend CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. All four of these coins, as well as the reverse die, were retained by Chief Coiner of the New Orleans Mint Dr. B.F. Taylor. The die was eventually obtained by E.B. Mason, Jr. of Philadelphia in 1879 and sold to John Walter Scott. Scott and his partner decided to profit from their ownership of the original CSA reverse die by striking and selling a small number of restrikes of the very rare 1861 Confederate half dollar. In order to test the die and determine its suitability for coinage, Scott at first struck 500 tokens using a new obverse die the inscriptions of which provide some information about the original 1861 CSA halves. He then proceeded to prepare the actual restrikes. To do so Scott obtained 500 original 1861-O Liberty Seated half dollars, "drilled off" their reverses and restruck that side using the Confederate reverse die. This process caused more-or-less loss of detail to the obverse design although, as related above for the present example. As the popularity of the original 1861 Confederate States of America half dollar has increased as numismatists have come to understand its history and rarity, so too has the desirability of the Scott restrikes increased. Survivors of this 500-piece delivery now represent the only readily obtainable examples of the 1861 CSA half dollar design, and they command a premium in today's market commensurate with their importance as collectibles. PCGS# 340402. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.