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Sale 72
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Lot 1321
1829. . O-111a. Unique as a Proof. NGC graded Proof 63. CAC Approved PQ. Well struck with lovely golden toning. Only 8 minted. Pop 2; 3 finer, 2 in 65, 1 in 66
Since it would be difficult to improve upon the detailed description and provenance given by the Stack's auction cataloger in 2006, we append the description verbatim:
A coin of stunning beauty with rich golden-sunset toning over the entire surface with a touch of darker blue near the rims. The strike is bold on all the obverse stars, Liberty's curls and the eagle's talons, areas poorly defined on regular issue coins. It is curious that the coiner chose this die pair to strike a Proof coin, as the reverse was first used in 1828 for circulation strikes. Both the 'A-S in AMERICA are filled at the top as a tiny portion of the die chipped away during the 1828 coinage. The reverse die was used in 1829 as well for circulation strikes, which were struck prior to the present coin. These earlier circulation strikes show repunching on the 'STA' and 'E' of STATES. After striking this Proof example, additional circulation strikes were coined. Identifiable by a shallow nearly vertical nick near and left of the beak, and by the stunning quality of this specimen. The '9' shows repunching on the upper right, and center base.
The coiner prepared the obverse and reverse dies by frosting the devices, then polishing the fields to mirror reflectivity. During this process, the repunching on STATES disappeared, and the definition on the 'TY' of LIBERTY and the clasp were inadvertently weakened. The defining line of Liberty's bust above the date was partially polished away, and the curls and other devices were weakened by this process. Small areas of frost extend into the mirror fields, notably below Liberty's chin, around the ribbon tips on the obverse, and on the reverse close to the olive branch and leaves. The polishing is seen within the shield lines, but not in the letters of LIBERTY or the Motto, which display frosted depths as opposed to mirror reflectivity seen on some other Proofs of this era. Nevertheless, this specimen has the commanding presence expected for a Proof, with boldly frosted devices contrasting with highly reflective fields. NGC PR63.
The following is a census of the known Proof Half Dollars of 1829:
O.105. Proof. Phillip G. Strauss Collection, sold privately, seen by Walter Breen in 1951. No auction appearance known.
O.107. NGC PR66. Wayte Raymond; Hillyer Ryder; The John J. Pittman Collection (David Akers, May 1998, lot 1491); Sebring Collection (American Numismatic Rarities, January 2004, lot 1473).
O.108. Proof 63/64. The Norweb Collection (Bowers and Merena, November 1988, lot 3095).
O.111a. NGC PR63. The Present Specimen. Schulman Collection; Globus Collection; Stack’s Auction, December 1998, lot 1362.
O.112. Proof 63. Norweb Collection (Bowers and Merena, November 1988, lot 3097); Logan/Steinberg Auction (Bowers and Merena, November 2002, lot 1462).
Other appearances are untraced and include Newcomb I:744; Woodin:173; Reed Hawn:91; ''Dupont'':2088 to Kagin; 1829/7 is likely the present coin above with the repunched '9' reported as an overdate by Wayte Raymond (PCGS # 6208) .
Estimated Value $30,000 - 40,000.
Ex Schulman, Globus, Stack's 10/2006.
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| Realized $42,550 |
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