1797 50C MS(PCGS#6060)

November 2019 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

7042

等级

F12

价格

236,333

详细说明

Rare and Enigmatic 1797 Small Eagle Half Dollar 1797 Draped Bust Half Dollar. Small Eagle. O-101, T-1. Rarity-4+. 15 Stars. Fine-12 (PCGS). OGH. A predominantly light silver gray example that does exhibit some warmer sandy-gold patina in the protected areas around many of the design elements, especially at the peripheries. The center of Liberty's portrait is blunt, probably due as much to softness of strike as wear, although we stress that all devices are boldly outlined with this classic early U.S. Mint design fully appreciable. Wispy hairlines and a somewhat glossy texture are noted for accuracy, but there are no sizeable or otherwise singularly mentionable handling marks. Tompkins Die Stage 1/1. This lovely piece exemplifies the scarce earlier state of the O-101 dies, estimated to be about twice as rare as the later one by Tompkins. The obverse remains essentially prime, with inspection of the rim near star 2 revealing no sign of fracture. The reverse displays a crack from the rim down to the O of OF that is carried over from this die's previous employment in striking 1796-dated halves, though cracks proprietary to this pairing are sparse. A fracture is just beginning to descend down from the denticle above the first T in STATES, though the rim between D and S shows absolutely no sign of fatigue. The 1797 half dollar is a profoundly enigmatic issue whose intrigue is only overshadowed by its rarity. Echoing the symbolism portrayed by the flag of the United States, the earliest coins of the United States Mint depicted a star count that tried at best to mirror the number of states belonging to the Union at the time of striking. Fittingly so, the half dollars of 1794 and 1795 display 15 stars on the obverse-- a number justified by Kentucky's admission on June 1st 1792. In anticipation of 1796's half dollar mintage, officials prepared a 1796-dated 15-star die for use, though no half dollars were struck in said year. However, by the time mintage resumed in the beginning of 1797, Tennessee had already joined the Union on June 1st of 1796 and a 16-stars motif was appropriate. Never to be wasteful, the Mint employed this wrongly dated and wrongly starred obverse, eventually transitioning to a 1796-dated 16-star obverse by some other combination of misguidance. Then, most curiously, a third die was created to finish out the 1797 half dollar production year; properly dated 1797, though ornamented with just 15 stars on the obverse. Several theories and conjectures have emerged to explain how this blundered regression might have occurred, though whether terribly complex or astoundingly simple, the error in star-count for the 1797 Draped Bust half dollar has left numismatic scholars scratching their heads for the past two centuries. Provenance: From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. PCGS# 6060. NGC ID: 24EC. Click here for certification details from PCGS.