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Sale 84
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Lot 1145
1802. Logan-McCloskey-1, Rarity 5. NGC graded AU-50. The only known die pairing. Mint reports indicate 3,060 half dimes were minted. The 1 in the date is free from the curl but close, and the 8 is the largest of the four digits, that being made by overlapping two small zeros. The 0 is oval rather than round, and the top of the 2 is tilted to the left and grazes the lower drapery. On the reverse, the base of the M in AMERICA is slightly higher than A. A leaf tip is centered under the I of AMERICA, and a leaf joins the base of the C. The die line seen here under the B in LIBERTY and extending to the hair below E is normally seen on all high-grade examples we have examined. The reverse shows a noticeable rim cud beginning to form above the E in UNITED, extending downward to touch the top of that letter.
Some researchers feel the original mintage figure of 3,060 pieces is suspect, likely much lower as the number of survivors mathematically does not compute with similar half dimes of this era. NGC opines that perhaps three dozen examples exist in all grades. Noted expert David J. Davis listed all of the auction and fixed price appearances of 1802 half dimes in the reference work Federal Half Dimes 1792 - 1837 by Russell J. Logan and John W. McCloskey. What is known today is that of the meager number of survivors, about half are certified and reasonably wholesome, the other half are coins with varying degrees of problems.
This piece is deeply toned in shades of cobalt-blue, rose, gold and argent-gray. The striking details are slightly uneven; this apparently is normal for the date, as evidenced by the other higher grade examples we have examined. On the obverse, the stars on the left are weak as are the lowest hair curls. On the reverse, stars 2, 3, and 8 are nonexistent. Otherwise, the hair curls on Liberty are well-defined, as are the feathers on the wings of the eagle. The profile of Liberty is noticeably doubled (most visible on the right side of her profile) and there are several shallow pinscratches in the right obverse field under stars 8 and 9, and an oval-shaped planchet void on Liberty's breast. A shallow scratch runs diagonally across the shield at the center of the reverse.
The 1802 half dime is unknown in Mint State and, given the importance of condition to this issue, a list of the grades of all certified examples follows:
NGC - Shows only two submissions, both in AU-50. PCGS - One each in AG-3, Good-6, Very Good-8, Very Good-10, VF-30, VF-35, XF-40, XF-45, AU-50 and two in AU-55. Duplications are certainly probable as the AU-50 has been reholdered to an NGC AU-50 (above).
The rarity of the 1802 half dime is legendary. Few collectors ever have the opportunity to acquire one due to high cost and the fact they are so infrequently offered. The present coin, with its incredible pedigree, will be a showpiece in the cabinet of its next owner (PCGS # 4268) .
Estimated Value $275,000 - 300,000.
W. Elliot Woodward Sale (10/1884); James B. Wilson Collection (Thomas Elder, 10/1908); H.O. Granberg Collection; William Cutler Atwater (B. Max Mehl, 6/1946), lot 1126; unknown dealer intermediaries in the late 1940s; anonymous New Jersey collector until 1991; 1998 FUN Sale (Heritage, 1/1998), lot 6631; Philadelphia 2000 Sale (Heritage, 8/2000), lot 6815; Long Beach Signature Sale (Heritage (6/2001), lot 7960; 2011 Chicago ANA Sale (Heritage 8/2011), lot 7065.
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