1873-S $5 MS(PCGS#8332)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1438

等级

MS61

价格

200,075

详细说明

Exceedingly Rare Mint State 1873-S Half Eagle The Only Mint State Example Known to PCGS and Stickered by CAC First Auction Offering for an Uncirculated Coin 1873-S Liberty Head Half Eagle. MS-61 (PCGS). CAC. In what could very well be a once-in-a-lifetime bidding opportunity for the advanced gold enthusiast, Stack's Bowers Galleries is proud to present the first ever public auction offering of a certified Mint State 1873-S half eagle. A beautiful coin, both sides exhibit attractively original patina in honey-orange. Striking detail is superior for a San Francisco Mint gold coin from the 1870s, the mintmark well defined and fairly crisp, and most other design elements sharply to fully impressed. Accuracy alone compels us to mention just a touch of softness to the hair curls over Liberty's brow and the eagle's neck feathers. The surfaces are lustrous with a satin to softly frosted texture and uncommonly smooth appearance overall for the assigned grade. A tiny reeding mark in the upper reverse field below the eagle's beak and a couple of shallow grazes in the field above the olive branch are useful identifiers for tracking this exceedingly rare coin through future market appearances. Highly appealing and sure to see spirited bidding among specialists. The Philadelphia Mint achieved a temporary increase in circulation strike half eagle production in 1873 due to the reasons explained above in our cataloging for the Close 3 example in the Fairmont Collection. At the San Francisco Mint in 1873, however, it was essentially business as usual regarding production of this denomination. The mintage of 31,000 coins reported for the 1873-S is on par with those of other San Francisco Mint fives from the late 1860s and early 1870s and, like those other issues, heavy commercial use on the West Coast claimed most of the coins. This issue is scarce even in well worn condition, while in the popular collector grades of EF and AU only a few small handfuls remain. Mint State 1873-S half eagles are the stuff of legend, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth writing in the 2008 edition of their Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933, "One coin has been graded at the Mint State level (NGC MS-61), but it has never been offered for sale at public auction." The NGC MS-61 remains alone among Mint State examples of this issue known to that service, and it has still not sold at auction per the records at PCGS CoinFacts. The Fairmont specimen is the first and, as of this writing, the only 1873-S half eagle to be certified as Mint State by PCGS. Its offering in this sale marks the issue's first auction offering for a Mint State example. The only Mint State 1873-S five to have received a coveted CAC designation, as well, the significance of this coin for advanced collectors of San Francisco Mint and/or Liberty Head gold coinage can hardly be overstated. Combined PCGS and NGC Population: just 2 in all Mint State grades, PCGS MS-61 and NGC MS-61. CAC Population: 1; 0. PCGS# 8332. NGC ID: 25WM. Click here for certification details from PCGS.