'1772' 1/2P Machin's Mills, IVS, BN MS (PCGS#939)
August 2019 ANA U.S. Coins Auction Rosemont, IL
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 494
- 等级
- F15BN
- 价格
- 31,340
- 详细说明
- Superior Vlack 24-72C Machin's Mills Halfpenny
1772 Machin's Mills Halfpenny. Vlack 24-72C, W-7740. Rarity-6. GEORGIVS III, Group I. Fine-15 (PCGS).
117.4 grains. This is one of the four discovery specimens of the variety noted in TN-100 in the Colonial Newsletter serial no. 70 (June 1985) and was the specimen used to illustrate this article documenting Richard August's unearthing of this then new die combination. Though a good handful have been discovered since its initial publication, undoubtedly many of which were found masquerading as worn out halfpence in dealer's junk bins, finding an example with any measure of central detail and surface quality, as here, is quite difficult. The obverse die appears to have been almost purposefully damaged at the periphery to simulate wear, and the reverse die shows so much spalling and rust as to diminish or muddle the central and peripheral design details. On this coin, King George's hair, laurel wreath, face and cuirass are quite clear and well defined, while Britannia on the reverse exhibits differentiation in her garments and a hint of detail in the Union Jack. Given the lack of detail in the strike, many specimens of Vlack 24-72C get undergraded by the third party certification services, which misunderstand this die combination; one must give greater weight to the quality of the surfaces and overall degree of wear than to the level of remaining detail. Here we find gentle wear and choice light brown surfaces that show just a peppering of small marks under magnification, the overall quality suggestive of a VF grade for an example of this challenging variety. A couple of short scratches of varying age are evident in the right reverse field. This one ranks as the fifth finest in Jack Howes' records for the variety and would be a stand out coin in even an advanced collection of the series.
Provenance: Ex Richard August and Gary Trudgen Collections.
Click here for certification details from PCGS.
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