1878-S 50C MS(PCGS#6360)

August 2021 ANA U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4097

等级

MS63

价格

894,025

详细说明

Legendary 1878-S Half Dollar Rarity The Eliasberg-Richmond Specimen Condition Census PCGS/CAC MS-63 1878-S Liberty Seated Half Dollar. WB-1, the only known dies. Rarity-5. MS-63 (PCGS). CAC. This wonderfully original example is toned in dominant pearl-gray patina with splashes of delicate gold, blue and pinkish-apricot. Well struck with full mint luster evident as the surfaces rotate under a light, direct viewing angles reveal prooflike reflectivity in the fields. Smooth in hand with strong visual appeal, a light graze at stars 1 and 2 on the obverse is mentioned solely for provenance purposes. In the early 1870s, great quantities of silver continued to flow eastward from the vast riches of the Comstock Lode, this process made easier with the rapid expansion of the railroads. This and certain international factors caused a plummeting of the price of silver, which had the effect of prompting some previously hoarded silver to come out of the woodwork. As silver became even cheaper in relation to gold, a drive to eliminate bimetallism and move to a strict gold standard grew. In February 1873 the Coinage Act was passed, which had the principal effect of demonetizing silver coins and eliminating a silver dollar for domestic use. With the end of bimetallism came the elimination of the strictly regulated issuance of silver coins, leading to the "Free Silver" movement, allowing the government to inject even more silver into circulation to combat the effects of the Panic of 1873. Consequently, large quantities of subsidiary minor silver coins were produced throughout the mid-1870s, resulting in a sharp decrease in the need for new coinage by 1877. The silver barons of the Western states were now burdened with large amounts of a precious metal that was becoming not so precious. They banded together and convinced several senators to pass the Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878, which re-established the domestic silver dollar (eliminating the trade dollar except in Proof format), and required the Treasury to purchase between $2 and $4 million worth of new domestically mined silver bullion every month to coin specifically into silver dollars. Importantly, the silver could not be of foreign origin, nor could it be recycled. The effect of the Bland-Allison Act on the half dollar was swift and dramatic. While 1,377,600 were minted in Philadelphia in 1878, at the Western branches almost all production switched immediately to the new Morgan silver dollar. Carson City managed 62,000 half dollars that year, but at San Francisco only 12,000 pieces were struck. A single pair of dies was all that was required and all bear the same diagnostic raised lump at the top left of the first open stripe on the reverse shield. This feature is found on all genuine specimens and can be seen even on low grade examples. For those patient enough to count them, all 1878-S half dollars have 147 reeds on the edge, different from the edge reeding used at the other mints that year. The 1878-S half dollar is one of the legendary key dates in the Liberty Seated series and was recognized as a true rarity not long after it was issued. In the West, silver coins were popular, heavily used and apt to enter circulation largely unnoticed. However, fairly early on the rarity of the 1878-S half dollar became apparent especially when collecting by mintmark became popular in the 1890s. According to P. Scott Rubin, the earliest record of an 1878-S half dollar appearing at auction was in 1882. Nineteenth century numismatist Augustus G. Heaton remarked in 1893 in his highly influential treatise, Mint Marks, that with the "1878 we have the great rarity of the San Francisco half dollar coinage." Today, the estimated number of survivors in any grade is between 50 and 60 pieces. The present example is ranked CC#7 in the census published in Bill Bugert's 2009 reference A Register of Liberty Seated Half Dollar Varieties, Volume I: San Francisco Mint, and it boasts an impressive numismatic provenance back to 1898 that further enhances its desirability. Provenance: Ex Edouard Frossard's "New Jersey Collection" sale, March 1898; J.M. Clapp; John H. Clapp; Clapp estate, 1942; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, April 1997, lot 2049; Jim O'Donnell, private sale, March 1998; David Lawrence's sale of the Richmond Collection, Part III, March 2005, lot 1770; Heritage's Exclusively Internet Auction of April 2005, lot 11224; First American, advertised in Coin World, June 2005; Heritage's ANA Signature Auction of July 2005, lot 10214; First American, advertised in Coin World, September 2005. PCGS Population: 5; 6 finer in this category (MS-66 finest). CAC Population: 2; 3. PCGS# 6360. NGC ID: 24KR. Click here for certification details from PCGS.