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1796 50C 15 Stars MS63 PCGS. O-101. R.5. We are both h

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:180.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1796 50C 15 Stars MS63 PCGS. O-101. R.5. We are both h
<B>1796<50C> 15 Stars MS63 PCGS.</B></I> O-101. R.5. We are both honored and delighted to offer the 1796 15 Stars half dollar once owned by Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. This legendary collector assembled the only complete collection of U.S. coinage, either before or since, earning him the title "King of Coins." The current PCGS-graded MS63 coin appeared as lot 1673 in the April 1997 Bowers and Merena sale of the Eliasberg Collection, where it was described as "MS63, prooflike." The pedigree chain in that catalog included "... J.M. Clapp; John H. Clapp; Clapp estate, 1942 to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; Eliasberg estate." Interestingly, in Q. David Bowers' 1996 book entitled <I>Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.: King of Coins,</B></I> the author alludes to the notebook that J.M. Clapp used to record his coin acquisitions. Bowers presents some "brief remarks" gleaned from the notebook that relate to the various series. With regard to half dollars, he states: "Early issues were listed as complete by date and major variety and were highlighted by a Mint State 1795 ... and worn examples of the two varieties of 1796 and one of 1797. ... Beginning about 1806, Uncirculated coins are the rule among the listings."<BR> Based on the above passages from Clapp's notebook, one might question whether the 1796 Select Uncirculated piece in the Bowers and Merena catalog (along with a 1796 16 Stars half dollar graded "MS63, prooflike," and a 1797 Overton-101a half described as "MS60 or finer, partially prooflike" can in fact be traced to the Clapp collection. Did Eliasberg sell or trade Clapp's "worn examples" of the three Draped Bust, Small Eagle half dollars and replace them with Mint State specimens acquired from other sources?<BR> There may, however, be another explanation of the apparent grade disparity between certain coins in the Eliasberg catalog and what are presumed to be the same pieces in the Clapp noteb