Lot 1089
1842-C $5 Liberty. Small date. PCGS graded EF-40. Medium golden orange with traces of luster in the recessed areas. Considered to be the rarest of all Charlotte Mint half eagle issues. Indeed, save for the 1849-C Open Wreath gold dollar rarity, this may be the rarest Charlotte Mint issue of any denomination. Nearly always seen Very Fine or so, with pieces in higher grades difficult to obtain. A few stray marks are present, as might be expected for the grade, but nothing singular strikes us as requiring mention. Pleasing for the grade, in fact, which is certainly worth strong bidder attention.
The 1842-C is a key rarity in Extremely Fine grade, and incredibly so at the Mint State level, there being no more than a handful of such coins extant. Of all Charlotte Mint half eagles in the present sale, this is one of the most important.
Walter Breen attributes a mintage of 4,595 pieces to the 1842 Small Date variety and 23,589 to the Large Date variety, proposing a ratio of approximately 1 to 4. This apparently was in error, because data printed by Douglas Winter and David Akers, while still showing that the Small Date variety is scarcer, brings the gap closer together. Pop 8; 17 finer. (PCGS # 8208) .
Estimated Value $15,000 - 19,000.
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| Realized $14,950 |
