1826 50C PR(PCGS#6203)

November 2019 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

7151

等级

PR64

价格

354,500

详细说明

Captivating Proof 1826 O-102 Half Dollar A Major Rarity in this Format 1826 Capped Bust Half Dollar. O-102. Rarity-8 as a Proof. Proof-64 (PCGS). A highly significant numismatic rarity, as are all Proof Capped Bust Half dollars irrespective of date or die marriage, this is a beautiful near-Gem earmarked for inclusion in another world class cabinet. The finish is well mirrored both in the fields and over the design elements, which feature shines forth powerfully through an overlay of rich, yet largely iridescent toning. The obverse is layered in a blend of steely-olive, powder blue and champagne pink, while the reverse is adorned with warmer, more even blue-gray. The impression is well centered within fully denticulated borders, virtually all design elements displaying razor sharp definition. Even so, the strike is not 100% full for we do note appreciable softness to the end of Liberty's bust, stars 1 to 5, 8 and 13 and, on the reverse, along the lower left and right borders, at the letters ST in STATES, and on the scroll at the letters PLU in PLURIBUS. One other confirmed Proof striking from these dies exhibits such softness of strike (see below), but they are definitely different specimens. Smooth in hand, as befits the assigned grade, the tiniest nick (one will need a loupe to see it) in the lower reverse field between the arrow feather and the digits 50 in the denomination is the only useful provenance marker that we can offer. Produced three decades before the United States Mint started marketing Proof coinage to collectors to a significant extent, the mintage of the 1826 Capped Bust half dollar in this format was not recorded at the time and, as such, is unknown. The total number of coins struck was undoubtedly extremely limited as, in the absence of a thriving numismatic hobby in the United States at the time, the Mint of the 1820s generally produced Proof coins only for presentation or other official purposes. Such pieces were also prepared on an as needed basis, Mint employees using whatever dies came most readily to hand to strike a few coins at different times throughout the year. For the 1826 half dollar, only two die varieties have been positively confirmed to exist in Proof format. Walter Breen (Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins: 1722-1989) knew of only Overton-102, represented here, but in recent years four Proofs from the Overton-101 pairing have been certified by the leading third party grading services. Overton-102 is even rarer, as we have been able to positively confirm the existence of just three Proofs: 1 - PCGS Proof-64.Ex Ira Reed; T. James Clarke Collection, New Netherland's #47, lot 1258; E. Horatio Morgan Collection, acquired 1989. The present example. This coin is the #2 specimen in the 1989 edition of Breen's Proof coin encyclopedia. 2 - Proof-63.Ex Heritage's Long Beach Signature Sale of September 1996, lot 5600. Softly struck in isolated areas around the peripheries, most notably at the end of Liberty's bust and at the letters ST in STATES, which feature led the Heritage cataloger to suspect that this coin was the Reed-Clarke specimen listed above. Our offering of the E. Horatio Morgan Collection has enabled us to confirm that these two coins are, in fact, different specimens. 3 - Proof.Ex Superior's C.E. Gilhousen Collection sale, Part III, October 1973, lot 930; Superior's Dr. Charles L. Ruby Collection sale, Part III, February 1975, lot 696; Superior's L.W. Hoffecker Collection sale, February 1987, lot 3154; Superior's Worrell Collection sale, September 1993, lot 1279. With the Heritage 9/96 and Gilhousen-Ruby-Hoffecker-Worrell specimens not yet offered through numismatic auction during the 21st century (to the best of our knowledge), and the Reed-Clarke-Morgan specimen off the market since 1989, opportunities to acquire a Proof 1826 O-102 half dollar are obviously exceedingly rare. This may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime bidding opportunity for the advanced collector, and it is deserving of the utmost attention. Provenance: From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. Ex Ira Reed; T. James Clarke Collection, New Netherland's #47, lot 1258. Collector envelope with provenance notation included. PCGS# 6203. Click here for certification details from PCGS.