Lot 794
1836. Reeded edge. GR-1, Rarity 2. NGC graded MS-63. Boldly struck especially on the curls of Liberty and the eagle's feathers, although there is minor softness on the central star radials as commonly seen. The obverse and reverse are nicely toned with a blend of golden gray and antique hues. While the original mintage has long been reported as 1,200 pieces, this has been found to be too low considering that approximately 1,000 of these exist today (estimates by CoinFacts). Thus the original mintage was more likely in the 5,000 pieces or so for the year. Remember that these were the long awaited, and finally produced first coinage struck by the new steam driven coining press at the Philadelphia Mint. This leap forward in technology allowed for more rapid coin production and more consistent strikes. Two changes were made to the reverse design, the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM was dropped (matching that policy on current quarter dollars and gold coins), and 50 C was changed to spell out 50 CENTS. Another significant change was the elimination of the wording on the edge, which ws replaced with reeding that could be imparted by the collar used on the new steam press. Any such lettering on the edge would have been difficult to impart with the ejection mechanizm used to remove the struck coin and insert the new blank into the press. This has always been a sought-after issue for the initial steam coinage tie, and marks the beginning of our mints into the more advanced machine age. Pop 5; 6 finer, 3 in 64, 1 in 64 Star, 2 in 65. Estimated Value $10,000 - UP
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