Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 4

The Dr. Jon Kardatzke Coin and Currency Collection, Part 1

Liberty Seated Half Dollars

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 987		1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Frosty and lustrous with a few minor hairlines, but still very appealing. Boldly struck at the centers, and a coin most collectors would be proud to own. View details	Realized $2,415
Lot 988		1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-60. A lovely, original coin for the grade that retains most of the original luster, has aged with a graceful rose color. Minor handling marks, but nothing worthy of note. View details	Realized $368
Lot 989		A Group of 26 "P" Mint Liberty Seated Halves. Includes 1839 Drapery, 1840 Small Date, 1842 Medium Date, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, 1849, 1856, 1857 (3 pcs), 1859, 1860, 1861, 1865, 1866 with/motto, 1867, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878. A nice run of 26 coins grading About Good to Very Fine. We urge personal inspection. View details	Realized $1,150
Lot 990		1840 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Small letters. AU-55. Prooflike in the fields, and very reflective. Probably cleaned, but the fields and surfaces don't show much evidence aside from not being toned. Boldly struck and well preserved. View details	Realized $253
Lot 991		1840 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Medium letters. EF-45. A curious use of the old style reverse die, the Guide Book states that these medium letter coins were actually struck in New Orleans from a leftover 1838-39 die without the mintmark. This makes some sense as during 1838-39 New Orleans half dollars were struck with an obverse mintmark, hence the reverse die very well could have stayed in New Orleans and been pressed into service while waiting a new die shipment from Philadelphia. Breen makes no mention of this assertion of being coined in New Orleans. Breen does say that this is very rare indeed, and the reverse does show several die cracks. Frosty luster remains, and the coin is very well struck. View details	Realized $1,093
Lot 992		1840-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. EF-40. Nice for the grade. View details	Realized $127
Lot 993		1841 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-61. A frosty, untoned delight that boasts abundant luster and mint fresh surfaces. Moderate handling marks show as there is no toning aside from a speck here and there on the edge. Very minor hairlines in the fields. View details	Realized $805
Lot 994		1841-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-60. A lovely, lustrous coin that boasts a haze of yellow-gold toning and well struck devices. One tiny, trivial rim tick near the last star. Minor handling marks, and struck from a cracked reverse die. View details	Realized $299
Lot 995		1842-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Small date. VF-30. A very difficult coin to find in high grade, this one is darkly toned in the fields with lighter devices. There are minor tick marks, one located midfield on the left obverse, another nick below Liberty's knee. On the reverse there is a rim tick above C in AMERICA, another mark nearby and one between the arrowheads. This coin was struck from an old die with the small letters reverse, and with an obverse that was engraved with small date punches. The reported mintage of 203,000 seems far too high when one considers how seldom this variety is offered. View details	Realized $2,645
Lot 996		1842 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Small date. AU-55. The small date variety is scarce. Frosty luster and lightly toned around the rims. Hairlined from a cleaning in the past, but recovering nicely. View details	Realized $288
Lot 997		1842 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Medium date. MS-60. Choice surfaces for the grade with some prooflike reflectivity and lovely gold toning at the periphery. View details	Realized $288
Lot 998		1842-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Medium date. AU-58. Lightly cleaned and still too bright, with minor hairlines in the fields. Well struck for the date, with several peripheral die cracks on the reverse. View details	Realized $288
Lot 999		1843 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Choice for the grade, lightly cleaned with resulting hairlines and still bright white. The reverse die is shattered with six radial cracks. View details	Realized $138
Lot 1000		1843 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. EF-40. Cleaned and generally untoned, with an area of color still on Liberty. Both dies show cracks, especially the reverse. View details	Realized $75
Lot 1001		1843-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-60. Frosty luster and well struck for the date. Moderate handling marks visible in the untoned fields. View details	Realized $368
Lot 1002		Group of 16 "O" Mint Liberty Seated Halves. Includes 1843-0, 1844-0, 1845-0 Drapery, 1846-0, 1847-0, 1849-0, 1850-0, 1851-0, 1856-0 (2 pcs), 1857-0, 1858-0 (2 pcs), 1860-0 (2 pcs), 1861-0. Grades range from About Good to Very Fine. A worthwhile group that deserves examination. View details	Realized $661
Lot 1003		1844 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-61. Frosty luster throughout and sharply impressed. Nice for the grade, with clean fields and devices as compared with baggy examples we too often see. View details	Realized $311
Lot 1004		1844-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Silvery-gray in color and lustrous, the obverse stars are not quite fully struck. View details	Realized $253
Lot 1005		1845 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-60. Rather heavy hairlines from an abrasive cleaning, untoned and should recover if given a chance. Well struck. View details	Realized $311
Lot 1006		1845-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Repunched date with each digit punched a bit too far to the left, then corrected. Light silver in color and pleasing. View details	Realized $207
Lot 1007		1845-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. No drapery. VF-30. The obverse die was probably lapped to remove clash marks, which also removed the lightly engraved drapery lines below Liberty's left arm. Nice surfaces, but cleaned some time ago and retoned to a steel gray color. A few rim ticks on both sides. View details	Realized $63
Lot 1008		1846 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Medium date. EF-40. Nicely struck with full devices throughout as evidence. Rose toned over satiny gray fields. View details	Realized $69
Lot 1009		1846 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Tall date. MS-60. Frosty and bright with ample luster in the fields, and only minor handling marks. Clean fields. View details	Realized $575
Lot 1010		1846 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Tall date. AU-58. Frosty and nearly mint state, the surfaces are clean and show just a touch of wear. Well struck, but some weakness on the eagle's thigh. View details	Realized $368
Lot 1011		1846-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Medium date. AU-58. Virtually no drapery under Liberty's left arm, just the outer fold remains detached from arm and knee. The obverse has been severely lapped down, removing all details from Liberty's foot, and weakening the stars and other devices. Similar on the reverse, the leaves and some of the lettering are fat and without the normal details and crispness normally encountered on high grade coins. Curiously, the obverse fields show some prooflike surface, where they must have been repolished after lapping to remove the file marks. Clean surfaces for the grade, and toned a light golden color. View details	Realized $368
Lot 1012		1847 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Normal date. AU-58. A beautiful coin graced by loads of mint frost and virtually untoned. Loaded with value and certain to find an appreciable home. View details	Realized $299
Lot 1013		1847-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Untoned with some luster in the fields, the surfaces show hairlines from a cleaning. View details	Realized $127
Lot 1014		1847-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Delicate prooflike fields show some hairlines from both circulation and an ancient cleaning. Toned with golden highlights around the devices. Appealing. View details	Realized $207
Lot 1015		1848 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-58. The 4 in the date was cut too low and parts of the error show in the enclosed portion of that number. Nice frosty fields and lightly toned. Sharp. View details	Realized $575
Lot 1016		1848-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-63. Satiny luster and sharply struck from lapped and cracked dies. Toned with a halo of gold around the periphery. The fields and devices show minor hairlines, but few other signs of handling. An excellent coin to represent the type. View details	Realized $920
Lot 1017		1848-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. EF-45. Nicely toned and sharp. View details	Realized $132
Lot 1018		1849 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Steel gray in color with some luster near the devices. Boldly struck throughout, the only complaint is a small area of dull scrapes around the eagle's head. View details	Realized $242
Lot 1019		1849-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-60. Cleaned and retoned to an original appearing rose and tawny gold shade. Well struck by the dies, with crisp devices. There is a curious die crack bisecting Liberty's head and traveling down her right arm. Nice eye appeal and this represents a good value in today's slab-driven marketplace. View details	Realized $311
Lot 1020		1850 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-58. Nice and steel gray in color, although there is a dark arc shaped stain on the reverse, possibly from an encounter with a rubber band. Never, never, never hold raw coins together with a rubber band, the rubber eats into the surface of the coins, even if it only is touching the rim, and permanently damages the surface that it touches. On this particular coin, it may only be a stain, but it has the "rubber band" look, but the surface metal does not appear to be pitted where the stain is. View details	Realized $978
Lot 1021		1850-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-55. Frosty and bright with a blush of peripheral toning. Cleaned at some time in the past, with trivial hairlines in the fields, and nice surfaces throughout. View details	Realized $230
Lot 1022		1851 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-58. Scarce as a date, this 1851 is seldom encountered in high grades. Most were melted as the price of silver rose as compared with gold, which was being shipped to the mints in massive quantities from the goldfields of California in the 1850s. As the price of silver rose, the silver coins in circulation became worth more than face value, and were melted in massive quantities. This occurred in the late 1960s again when silver coinage disappeared from circulation as the price of silver rose well above face value. Hence, 1851 half dollars are rarely encountered today, and the official mintage needs to be taken with a grain of salt to account for the meltings. Here is a delightful coin that boasts nearly full luster, well struck devices and choice surfaces throughout. View details	Realized $1,323
Lot 1023		1851-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-55. Frosty and bright, with subtle gold tones around the periphery. Scarce. View details	Realized $403
Lot 1024		1852 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-62. One of the scarce dates due to the massive meltings as discussed under the 1851 half dollar above. Not only was 1852 a low mintage date, but most of those produced were melted. This one has been cleaned, lightly, but evidence can be seen in the fields of minute hairlines. Now it is toned a lovely gray tone with frosty luster in the fields. A tough coin to find in high grade, actually in any grade. This wonderful collection will provide countless collectors a chance to add several fantastic high grade coins to their date sets. Such a collection, nearly a complete major variety set, is seldom offered for sale. Back up the truck and take home a load of these, you will be glad you did. View details	Realized $1,047
Lot 1025		1852-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Struck from polished dies, with some prooflike surface remaining in the fields. Ever-present hairlines from cleaning or handling, and these are starting to tone over and will fade over time as the natural toning returns. The devices are boldly struck and this coin is very nearly mint state. Not only is this a low mintage date, but most were melted, making this date tough to find. View details	Realized $604
Lot 1026		A Snowy White Gem 1853 Arrows and Rays. NGC graded MS-65. We don't have too much to say about this lovely coin because it is completely untoned (so we cannot describe any color), very boldly struck (so we cannot mention any faults here), and without marks of any size of any kind (so we cannot, again, think of anything to point out to prospective bidders). Rest assured, this is a Gem BU that is boldly minted and fantastically preserved. Oh yeah, okay: the last three stars are a touch soft, there are a few tiny ticks on the obverse, and the dies were clashed. The Arrows & Rays which marked this coinage issue as different from previous half dollars were a reflection of things changing, and not for the better. They indicated a reduced silver content, or total weight, even though it was slight (you might say this was the first precursor of inflation in the general economy--as opposed to isolated incidents like the Gold Rush's wild prices). What caused it? Natural causes: America was rapidly becoming much more than the agrarian country that had existed since Colonial days. And a huge war was clearly looming. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1853 on February 21st in order to stem the trickle of silver out of the USA into such places as Central America, where silver would flood in during the coming two decades as the gold-to-silver-to-greenbacks ratios gyrated out of control, largely as a result of the exigencies of the horrific Civil War, but also because the Nation was growing and growing and therefore entering a natural phase in the life of any democracy, called inflation. And just look where we are today, when our government insists there's "no inflation" and kids ask for fifty-dollar bills to go to the mall. As we said at first, things were not changing for the better. So here's a fine memento of how it all began. View details	Realized $13,513
Lot 1027		1853 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Arrows and rays. MS-62. A popular type coin and this is a delightful example. The surfaces are toned a vibrant rose gold and abundant luster dances in the fields. Sharply struck, as are most seen, with clashed dies. Minor handling marks from perfection, and probably cleaned sometime in the past. View details	Realized $1,265
Lot 1028		1853-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Arrows and rays. MS-60. Frosty luster in the fields, decently struck for the date, and well preserved. Minor hairlines in the fields, and these should tone over as the gold color continues to settle in. A great type coin. View details	Realized $1,265
Lot 1029		A Collection of "Arrows" Liberty Seated Halves. Includes 1853 Arrows and rays (2 pcs), 1853-0 Arrows and rays, 1854 Arrows, 1854-0 Arrows, 1855-0 Arrows (3 pcs), 1873 Arrows (2 pcs), 1874 Arrows. Grades range from About Good to Very Good. View details	Realized $173
Lot 1030		1854 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-50. Typical surfaces for the grade, but very lustrous and with a pleasing strike. View details	Realized $230
Lot 1031		1854-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-58. A frosty, untoned example of this scarce date. The surfaces show typical marks, but the luster in undiminished by cleaning or mishandling. The date is lightly repunched. View details	Realized $219
Lot 1032		1855 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Normal date. AU-50. Reflective fields that must have been dipped. Minor handling marks and well struck. The only complaint are minor hairlines, which will tone over in time. View details	Realized $173
Lot 1033		1855-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Sharpness of EF-40 but whizzed. As still seen occasionally, this coin was whizzed, a process which strips the coin of all toning and moves the metal around a bit to simulate luster. Thus the fields and devices have the same satiny quality. The only way to make this coin look more natural is to carry it as a pocket piece for some time, then allowing it to retone. View details	Realized $35
Lot 1034		1855-S Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-55. Light hairlines in the fields with satiny luster throughout. Well struck and a very low mintage date. View details	Realized $5,520
Lot 1035		1856 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. AU-58. Smoky gray toning over lustrous fields, with some darker blues and reds around the periphery. Boldly struck and choice for the grade. The 1 in the date has a curious projection to the right near the top, apparently repunched, not reported in Dr. Breen's Encyclopedia. View details	Realized $299
Lot 1036		1856-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-60. The 56 in the date is repunched, see Breen 4868 for an excellent photo of this variety. Glorious blue and gold toning over lustrous fields. Nicely struck and preserved. View details	Realized $242

Page 1 of 3

1 | 2 | 3