Lot 3239
1922 Grant Half Dollar, with star. PCGS graded MS-66. Lightly toned. The otherwise silvery hue warms to light gray and golden shades in areas. The devices were struck with such force and energy by the dies that nearly all design elements are bold. Only the top hair waves on the head show the least amount of flattening, and this is usual for the With Star variety. The fields have unique "luster" on the 1922 Grants. Satiny in part, frosty too, but with a twist, the surface was "roughed up" in the die, or perhaps left unpolished, so that using a magnifying glass, one sees myriad tiny raised die lies running this way and that. We suppose the idea was to simulate Grant's rugged character, and unfinished Midwestern origins.
If we were to start talking about Hiram Grant as the individual on this coin, many readers would shake their heads or end up rubbing their chins in amusement at our lack of education. Yet Hiram he was, if only formally. The man who came to be know as General (and later, President) Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant. At Ulysses' birth, his family had not decided on what to name him. According to Grant's autobiography, each member of the family wrote a name on a piece of paper and dropped it into a hat. They drew the name Hiram Ulysses Grant from the hat, and that became his name. He was known as Ulysses to his family and friends.
Ulysses attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. When Ulysses registered, his name appeared on West Point's records as Ulysses Simpson Grant, rather than Hiram Ulysses Grant. So, Ulysses changed his name to Ulysses Simpson Grant. He was known as U.S. Grant or "Uncle Sam" Grant. His good friends shortened this name and called him Sam. Pop 30; 3 finer in 67. (PCGS # 9307) .
Estimated Value $12,000 - 13,000.
Ex: Richard Jewell Collection.
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