1794 50C MS(PCGS#6051)

December 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1075

等级

AU53

价格

432,576

详细说明

Superior 1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar Historic Key Date Issue 1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar. O-101a, T-7. Rarity-3+. AU-53 (NGC). This is a richly original, very high grade example of one of the most eagerly sought dates in the entire U.S. half dollar series. Warmly toned in blended steel-gray and olive-russet, both sides also display iridescent undertones of cobalt blue and antique gold. The strike is expertly centered, and virtually all design elements retain razor sharp detail. Only isolated central high points show light wear from circulation. Traces of original mint luster also point to only a brief stint in active commerce. There are no marks of consequence, and even adjustment marks -- as made, and often quite heavy on early U.S. Mint silver coins -- are minor and confined to the right obverse border. A handsome coin that is sure to see spirited bidding among advanced type, date and variety collectors. Tompkins Die Stage 1/5. While today the half dollar is seldom seen in circulation and offering one up in change will often generate odd looks and questions, it is only relatively recently that this has been the case. Half dollars have traditionally been "workhorse coins intended for use in the channels of commerce," as Q. David Bowers described them. The reduction in the required surety bonds for the chief coiner and the assayer so that production of precious metal coins could commence came late in 1794 and in this first year, 23,464 (or fewer) pieces were made, as opposed to a much larger delivery of 299,680 pieces for calendar year 1795. By that year, which was the last in which the Mint used the Flowing Hair motif in this series, the half dollar had already established itself as the denomination of choice among bullion depositors, a situation that would continue well into the 19th century. Of the 11 known die marriages of the 1794 half dollar, O-101 is the most frequently encountered. This is not to imply that this is a common variety, for the 1794 as an issue is scarce to rare in all grades, irrespective of die marriage. The first half dollars struck in the United States Mint were 5,300 examples delivered on December 1, 1794. All of these coins are assumed to have been struck from 1794-dated dies. The Guide Book, among other numismatic references, provides a mintage figure of 23,464 pieces for this issue, as above, which assumes that the 18,164 half dollars delivered on February 4, 1795, were also coined from 1794-dated dies. This is conjecture, and we will never know for certain whether the coins delivered on February 4, 1795, were dated 1794, 1795, or both. Based on the number of die marriages known for the 1794-dated issue, as well as the number of coins extant, it is likely that at least some of the coins delivered in early 1795 were from 1794-dated dies. We suspect that the actual mintage for this issue is somewhat less than 23,464 pieces, most of which have long since been lost to commercial use. The 1794 O-101 half dollar is conditionally challenging, with the vast majority of survivors well worn in grades such as VG, Fine and VF. The Condition Census as given in the 2015 reference Early United States Half Dollars, Volume 1: 1794-1807by Steve M. Tompkins reads: 64, 63, 61, 61, 61, 58, 58. The Larry H. Miller specimen, just shy of that standing, is still a superior quality example, and it is a newcomer to the variety's census as listed in the Autumn 2020 revision to Stephen J. Herrman's Auction & Mail Bid Prices Realized for Bust Half Dollars: 1794-1839. Provenance: From the Larry H. Miller Collection. PCGS# 6051. NGC ID: 24E6. Click here for certification details from NGC. Click here to see Coins in Motion. [“Coins]