1852 1/2C Restrike, BN PR(PCGS#35402)

November 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

9070

等级

PR65BN

价格

47,211

详细说明

Gem First Restrike 1852 Braided Hair Half Cent Scarce and Desirable Proof-Only Issue 1852 Braided Hair Half Cent. First Restrike. B-2. Rarity-5. Small Berries. Proof-65 BN (PCGS). CAC. A handsome and richly original example of this key date issue in the Braided Hair half cent series. Warmly and evenly toned in medium brown, both sides also reveal tinges of pale pink and powder blue undertones. Full striking detail and broad, squared off borders leave little doubt that this coin was produced with great care, while the smooth, virtually pristine appearance speaks equally highly of the care with which it was preserved. A highlight of the half cent offerings in this sale, and sure to see spirited bidding among advanced numismatists. The United States Mint struck only Proof half cents in 1852. For years originals were unconfirmed, as various writers and researchers had speculated about the true nature of the 1852 Large Berries Proofs on the basis of precious little evidence. Neither Cohen nor Breen could get over the fact that the Large Berries reverse was used for all Proofs from 1840 to 1849, then shelved until the production of the 1852 Large Berries. We now know, thanks to the assembly of the Phil Kaufman Collection and follow-up research by John W. Dannreuther, that Proofs of each denomination used a single dedicated Proof reverse for all of the 1840s and, in some cases, as late as 1854, unless cracked or otherwise disabled. What Breen and others condemned as out of the order, under further examination, has turned out to have been standard operating procedure. In his Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents (1983), Walter Breen assigned the 1852 Large Berries the attribution B-4, but mistakenly classified it as a "Series VII" restrike. Now confirmed as an original striking of the year, the D. Brent Pogue specimen of the 1852 B-4 Large Berries realized $493,500 in our April 2017 Pogue V Sale. The elusiveness of the 1852 half cent was recognized early, certainly by the late 1850s when the production of the novel small size 1856 Flying Eagle cent and other factors combined to spark the first great surge in popularity for the numismatic hobby in the United States. The first restrikes of the Proof 1852 half cent hail from that era, and it is during the years immediately preceding the outbreak of the Civil War that examples of the B-2 variety were struck. This variety is now regarded as the only readily obtainable die marriage of the Proof 1852 half cent, identifiable by doubling to the letter T in CENT on the reverse. The total extant population of Proof restrikes of this date is fewer than 75 coins, confirming the important bidding opportunity represented by this lovely Gem. PCGS Population (all die marriages of the Restrike Proof 1852): 9; 6 finer in this category (Proof-66 BN finest). PCGS# 35402. 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.