Lot 896
1842-C $5 Liberty. Small date. PCGS graded AU-53. Well struck with nice, original toning and luster. Thankfully, this coin has not been "dipped out" as have so many of the Southern gold pieces (a travesty that has altered completely original coins just to get a higher number on a holder)! PCGS reports 4 in this grade and 8 finer, the best of which is an MS-62. The low mintage for the Small Date 1842-C (approximately 4,595 pieces) resulted when the obverse die broke early in the coining process. The very last coins from the die show a neat "cud" break at 12:00. From there, the process of attrition began and the number of pieces that have survived until today is indeed small. In fact, the 1842-C Small Date Half Eagle is the rarest and most valuable C-Mint $5 across the board. It is the key to the Charlotte Mint Half Eagle set. Here are some recent comparables: Harry Bass' PCGS AU-53 sold for $41,400 in May 2000; an NGC AU-55 brought $43,700 in a 1998 sale; a PCGS AU-58 realized $77,625 in a 1999 sale; and an NGC graded AU-58 sold for $51,750 in our February 2001 sale. Clearly, this example represents a nice balance between high grade and high value -- it's one of the nicest examples known, yet it's affordable by comparison (PCGS # 8208) .
Estimated Value $32,000 - 40,000.
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| Realized $33,350 |
