1838-D $5 MS(PCGS#8178)

Winter 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

7006

等级

XF45+

价格

131,359

详细说明

Classic 1838-D Half Eagle Rarity 1838-D Classic Head Half Eagle. HM-1, Winter 1-A, the only known dies. Rarity-3. EF-45+ (PCGS). CAC. Here is an uncommonly well preserved, visually impressive Choice EF example from the first year of half eagle production at the Dahlonega Mint. Warmly colored in olive-orange, both sides are appreciably lustrous and softly frosted. The strike is sharp with most design elements bold. Quite smooth and problem free for the issue, this coin is highly recommended for an advanced Southern gold cabinet. All 20,583 half eagles coined in Dahlonega in 1838 were struck by a single die pair. Most were distributed regionally and saw extensive circulation; 1838-D half eagles in Fine and Very Fine grade are not unusual. Sylvia Gailey Head and Elizabeth W. Etheridge's The Neighborhood Mint: Dahlonega in the Age of Jacksonreport that the first coins struck at Dahlonega were half eagles. The first press run of 80 coins was struck on April 17, 1838, as recorded in a letter from Mint Superintendent Dr. Joseph J. Singleton to Philadelphia Mint Director Robert M. Patterson on May 1, 1838. Lacking good leadership and technical skills, the Dahlonega Mint got off to a rough start. Important equipment took ages to reach north Georgia from Philadelphia, or it never arrived at all. Quarter eagles were not struck until 1839, and new half eagle dies for 1839 were not received until April of that year. Though silver coinage was authorized by Congress to be struck in Dahlonega in 1840, the facility struck nothing but gold coins until its closure. Taken over by the Confederacy in 1861, the mint structure was left abandoned after the Civil War. In 1871, the building was given to the North Georgia Agricultural College. After the mint burned down in 1878, another structure was constructed on the foundation and now serves as an administration building for the University of North Georgia. This issue attracts interest from several different quarters. Type collectors seek it out as the only Dahlonega Mint Classic Head half eagle. Dahlonega specialists require examples to complete date runs, and those who pursue first year of issue coins cherish the 1838-D as the first half eagle of the Dahlonega Mint. Interested bidders are urged to prepare an aggressive strategy for this lot. Provenance: From the Fairmont Collection - CBL Set. CAC Population: 32 in all grades. PCGS# 8178. NGC ID: 25S6. Click here for certification details from PCGS.