1797 H10C 13 Stars MS(PCGS#4260)

November 2017 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

10030

等级

XF45

价格

87,512

详细说明

Handsome Choice EF 1797 Half Dime Rare 13 Stars Variety 1797 Draped Bust Half Dime. LM-4. Rarity-6. 13 Stars. EF-45 (PCGS). A warmly patinated and wholly original example of this rare Guide Bookvariety of the 1797 Draped Bust half dime. Both sides are awash in bold golden-gray toning, the surfaces smooth in hand and holding up nearly as well under closer scrutiny with a loupe. We can find no significant blemishes, in fact, allowing one to focus on overall sharp detail that remains from a well executed strike. For the assigned grade, it is difficult for us to imagine a more pleasing example of either the type or variety. Logan-McCloskey 4 is the only die marriage of the 1797 13 Stars Guide Bookvariety, and it is the rarest of the four known die pairings of the issue. The obverse die was the last prepared for this issue, the 13 stars around the border signifying the Mint's abandonment of the plan to keep adding additional stars to our nation's coinage as new states joined the Union. After Tennessee's admission during the summer of 1796, the number of stars required under the original plan increased to 16. This resulted in a crowded design, and shortly after it was decided to default to 13 stars in honor of the original 13 colonies. Survivors of this variety are elusive in all grades, and most are well worn, if not also impaired. Mint State examples are all but unknown, and even at the Choice EF and AU levels the 1797 LM-4 is a significant rarity. A find for the advanced numismatist specializing in early half dime varieties. PCGS# 4260. NGC ID: 22ZZ. Provenance: From the Catherine Bullowa Moore Collection.