280
|
$5 Gold
1832
1862-S
.
NGC graded XF Details, Improperly Cleaned.
Very scarce date. In 1988, Walter Breen in his Encyclopedia
stated, "Prohibitively rare above VF, unknown above EF" in
regard to the 1862-S Half Eagle. David Akers called this date:
"One of the really great rarities of the half eagle series,"
remarking that he had never seen an example of the date that
was "full EF." Of course, the comments by Akers were made
three decades ago and new discoveries are sometimes made,
but surprisingly little has actually changed since then regarding
this date. It is still an elusive coin in all grades. Small pit at Lib-
erty’s nose and some dark verdigris on the reverse near the rim.
Only 9,500 struck. (
PCGS # 8293
)
Estimated Value ..............................................$1,800 - 1,900
$5 Li be r t y /Wi t h Mo t t o
P
OPULAR
1871-CC $5 L
IBERTY
1833
1871-CC
.
PCGS graded AU-58
. Mostly untoned and well
struck. Only 20,770 minted. Extremely clear and attractive
surfaces on this well made CC-mint Half Eagle. We suggest
there is about 25% original frost left on the obverse, mostly
clinging to the protected areas of the stars and date, but
illuminating the central Liberty device quite nicely as well.
Turning to the reverse, possibly as great as 30% to 40%
luster remains, again crisp, frosty, and glowing with color.
Desirable with this bold strike, Carson City outdid itself with
the present 1871-CC Half Eagle. To say the least it will draw
a lot of bids and nods of approval for the overall beauty, the
splendid originality.
1871-CC checks in as a very significant rarity among the $5
issues produced at the Carson City Mint. Relatively few
were made (in this instance 20,770), and nearly all seem to
have been put into circulation. There was no interest on the
part of numismatists at the time. The present piece is quite
exceptional.
Pop 5; 2 finer, 1 in 61, 1 in 62
. (
PCGS #
8323
)
Estimated Value .................................... $25,000 - 28,000
Enlargement
S
CARCE
1871-CC $5 L
IBERTY
1834
1871-CC
.
NGC graded AU-53
. Mostly untoned. Only
20,770 minted. Medium pinking gold with lustrous frost in
the protected areas. Considerably rarer than its mintage
suggests; this date is usually found in well-worn Fine to VF.
As noted in our earlier offering of the 1870-CC, coins of this
era seems to have circulated more extensively than others
of later dates. The 1871-CC is a formidable rarity at the AU
level, and only a few connoisseurs have ever owned a spec-
imen.
Though production nearly tripled from the preceding year,
the survival estimate for 1871-CC half eagles is less than
1% of the original mintage, according to CC Mint author
Rusty Goe. In comparison to the 1870-CC half eagles, the
strike on the 1871-CC is above-average, with typical soft-
ness at the center of the eagle’s neck and edges of the
shield, as seen here. A rather high, tilted mintmark, almost
touching the arrow feather is similar to the one found on
the 1870-CC. Another variety features a slightly lower mint-
mark, with the letters nearly parallel. As the collector base
for “CC” gold coins increases, examples of this date will
quickly disappear.
Pop 6; 17 finer, 8 in 55, 7 in 58, 1 in
61, 1 in 63
. (
PCGS # 8323
)
Estimated Value .................................... $10,000 - 11,000
Enlargement
