1834 $5 Classic Head, Plain 4 MS(PCGS#8171)

Spring 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

5003

等级

AU58

价格

21,396

详细说明

1834 Classic Head Half Eagle. HM-3. Rarity-2. Plain 4. AU-58 (PCGS). CAC. A thoroughly PQ near-Mint example with vivid golden-olive surfaces that retain much of the original semi-prooflike finish. The fields particularly noteworthy for the reflectivity that they reveal under a light. Striking detail is bold to sharp throughout, and the eye appeal is strong. After the New Tenor half eagles went into production on August 1, 1834, they remained a consistent news item for much of the summer and fall. Editorials against the Bank of the United States in pro-Jackson newspapers railed against the bank's monopoly power and latched upon the new half eagle as a symbol of it. They complained that the bank stockpiled the gold rather than paid it out, though the political polemics of this era were not often an accurate reflection of reality. "The rapid circulation of the Jackson currency, the gold eagles and half eagles...is annoying the friends of monopoly and the Bank beyond all conception," the New York Evening Postpublished just two weeks after the new coins were introduced. The Bank of the United States, located nine blocks down Chestnut Street from the Philadelphia Mint, was the largest depositor of gold at the Mint in this era. The followers of President Jackson's populist anti-bank rhetoric didn't understand or care about banking reserves or the importance of gold in international banking, preferring to shake their fists in anger at the control the bank wielded over the national economy. Jackson's veto of the bank's recharter is widely seen as causing the Panic of 1837, the first long national depression. Some scholars place greater importance upon other issues, including the bursting of the Western land bubble in 1836. More than 650,000 1834 Classic Head half eagles were coined between August 1 and the end of the year, the largest mintage of any issue of the Classic Head type. Most were the Plain 4 variety, as here. Though plenty survived, numismatic demand for premium quality examples at all grade levels far outstrips the supply of suitable coins. This beautiful AU-58 is of exceptional quality for the grade and sure to sell for a strong premium. Provenance: From the Fairmont Collection-Hendricks Set. PCGS# 8171. NGC ID: 25RR. Click here for certification details from PCGS.