1796 50C 15 Stars, Overton 101 MS(PCGS#39261)

August 2021 ANA U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4084

等级

MS62+

价格

2,021,274

详细说明

The Norweb 1796 15 Stars Small Eagle Half Dollar Tied for Condition Census #3 1796 Draped Bust Half Dollar. Small Eagle. O-101, T-1. Rarity-5-. 15 Stars. MS-62+ (PCGS). This phenomenal coin is fully prooflike and, in fact, was cataloged as a "Proof" when offered in New Netherlands' 1956 sale of the T. James Clarke Collection. Numismatic scholarship having advanced considerably since the 1950s, we now know that this coin does not qualify as a Proof in the strictest sense of the term. Even so, the fields are well mirrored, the strike is superior for a product of the early United States Mint and the surfaces have been preserved with a remarkable degree of care. Signs of contact are minimal, confined to a few minuscule abrasions and some even lighter hairlines that can be easily explained away as "cabinet friction" or a similar kind of numismatic handling. The only significant blemish is a small swirl of variegated color in the upper right obverse field that represents a toning spot caused by a tiny piece of lint that still adheres to the coin's surface in that area. This feature is the most suitable identifier we can find along with a minor planchet flaw (as made) at the reverse border between the words UNITED and STATES. Otherwise olive-gray in tone, there are iridescent undertones of vivid pinkish-lilac and cobalt blue. A significant highlight of this sale, and a coin that would serve with distinction in any numismatic cabinet. Tompkins Die Stage 5/3. The 1796-dated half dollars were struck using two obverse dies and a single reverse die in two marriages. Overton-101, offered here, is easy to distinguish from O-102 as the former variety exhibits only 15 stars around the obverse border. There are fewer than 100 different examples of the O-101 die marriage believed extant. The Mint State example that we offer here was once part of the fabulous Norweb Collection - as well as other important numismatic cabinets - and was certified MS-63 by NGC as recently as its offering in our August 2018 ANA Auction (where it did not sell). Based on that grade, it is tied for Condition Census #3 for the die marriage with only two other MS-63s of which we are aware: 1 - PCGS MS-63.Ex Benjamin H. Collins, January 1896; J.M. Clapp; John H. Clapp; Clapp estate, 1942; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, August 1997, lot 1673; Heritage's Denver, CO Signature & Platinum Night Auction of August 2006, lot 5222. 2 - NGC MS-63.Ex our (Bowers and Merena's) Four Landmark Collections Sale, March 1989, lot 1990; our (American Numismatic Rarities') Allison Park Collection Sale, August 2004, lot 418; Heritage's Long Beach Signature Auction of June 2005, lot 6209; Heritage's sale of the Southwest Collection, February 2008, lot 528. 3 - PCGS MS-62+ (formerly NGC MS-63).Ex Waldo C. Newcomer; "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; T. James Clarke; New Netherlands' 47th Sale (T. James Clarke), April 1956, lot 1195; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Norweb Collection, November 1988, Part III, lot 3024; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Dennis Irving Long Collection, January 1990, lot 256; our (Stack's) 65th Anniversary Sale, October 2000, lot 876; our (American Numismatic Rarities') Frog Run Farm Collection sale, November-December 2004, lot 1236; our Baltimore Auction of November 2010, lot 1908; our ANA Auction of August 2018, lot 1145. The present example, and listed in Jon P. Amato's 2012 reference The Draped Bust Half Dollars of 1796-1797, where it has been assigned Coin Serial Number 104 in the census. Provenance: Ex Waldo C. Newcomer; "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; T. James Clarke; New Netherlands' 47th Sale (T. James Clarke), April 1956, lot 1195; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Norweb Collection, November 1988, Part III, lot 3024; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Dennis Irving Long Collection, January 1990, lot 256; our (Stack's) 65th Anniversary Sale, October 2000, lot 876; our (American Numismatic Rarities') Frog Run Farm Collection sale, November-December 2004, lot 1236; our Baltimore Auction of November 2010, lot 1908; our ANA Auction of August 2018, lot 1145. PCGS# 39261. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA. Click here to see Coins in Motion.[“Coins]