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Sale 72
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Lot 1328
1839. No Drapery. NGC graded MS-67. Perhaps the Finest Known. Well struck with lovely blue toning. After a long, illustrious run from 1807 to 1836, the Mint switched to a more modern design in 1839 with introduction of the Seated Liberty motif (1839-91). The first-year 1839 was made in two versions, No Drapery at Liberty’s elbow and With Drapery. The one-year No Drapery half dollar is a popular issue for that reason, one eagerly acquired by Type and Seated Half Dollar set collectors both. Even high-end circulated specimens and lower-Mint quality examples are popular at auctions. It goes without saying at the Superb Gem grade of the current specimen, the remarkable condition of MS67 elevates it to the status of a famous rarity. This coin is the sole coin in its class certified at NGC, and indeed, surpassing lesser pieces by two grade points! (At the MS65 level, NGC has only graded two.) The situation repeats at PCGS, where two MS65s are recorded.
Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the first appearance of the Seated Liberty design occurred in 1836 on the silver dollars. Later, half dimes and dimes received the nod in 1837, the quarter dollars in 1838, and finally the half dollar denomination in 1839. The concept for a seated allegorical figure goes all the way back to Ancient times (Rome and Greece), so the concept was older still. These were struck on the newly introduced (1836) Thonnelier steam press which enabled faster production, and more uniform coins to be produced. The steam press was first used in 1836 on the rare Reeded Edge half dollars (only 1,500 being struck).
A total of 1.97 million 1839 No Drapery half dollars were made in for circulation, along with four known Proofs. Mint States of the 1839 No Drapery are of considerably rarer than most early collectors realized. With the advent of third-party grading in the 1980s it was revealed that fewer than four dozen certified in all Mint State grades between NGC and PCGS have passed through the grading procedure. More than one reverse die was used, including one that has die breaks. The present MS67 specimen is from a die showing no deterioration in the form of breaks.
Offered two years ago in a Heritage sale of 2011, the cataloger of the piece described the coin’s superior status in clear terms: "What is present on this coin in abundance, however, is marvelous aesthetic appeal. Both sides appear to have acquired their lovely patina naturally over a long period of time, in shades of lilac and blue at the centers, complementing lighter tinges of pinkish at the rims. The strike is not quite full but is extremely bold nonetheless, with marvelous detailing on Liberty's hair, gown, and shield, and the eagle on the reverse. Only a couple of peripheral stars are incomplete. Both sides appear virtually free of post-Mint contact, although we see a tiny depressed planchet flaw in the reverse field, just above HA(LF). A powerfully appealing example of this issue, and the single finest known of this historic first-year type." Pop 1; none finer at NGC .
1839: Those were the days. A colorful character who has since dropped out of history made front-page news the year of this Half Dollar. In 1839, the first woman horse thief in America published her confessions. Josephine Amelia Perkins, born and raised in England, stole her first horse from her own father for her elopement. Eventually she came to America completely broke, and continued her career of horse-stealing. She herself admitted to being "4 times detected, twice pardoned on account of my sex, once for reasons of supposed insanity, and the 4th and last time, convicted and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in Madison County jail, Kentucky." (The report doesn’t say whether or not she later ran for Congress.)
Continuing on the subject of the fair sex, the Mar. 3, 1839, New York Mirror ran the following as a program for a dinner conversation: "When you are seated next to a lady, you should be only polite during the 1st course; you may be gallant in the 2nd; but you must not be tender till the dessert."
Estimated Value $100,000 - 115,000.
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