LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Jan. FUN Signature Coin Auction #454  / 

2861

1807 50C Specimen 65 PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:195,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1807 50C Specimen 65 PCGS
<B>1807 50C Specimen 65 PCGS.</B></I> O-109, High R.7, as a specimen strike. The superb, talented engraver Joseph Wright, designer of the Liberty Cap cent and half cent, was the first full-time engraver hired at the Philadelphia Mint, but he tragically died in September 1793, during one of the annual yellow fever epidemics that regularly decimated the city. Robert Scot was hired only two months later as chief engraver, a post he held until his death in 1823. Scot was born in 1744, making him already nearly 50 years old when he began working for the Mint. Although Scot was later criticized for his modest talent and slow work style, among his improvements at the Mint were the use of device punches, for example for the whole head of Liberty, so that only the date, stars, and letters required manual addition to working dies.<BR> By 1807 Scot, then 63, faced serious competition from a younger rival, one much more talented, judging from their relative artistic accomplishments overall. Breen writes in his <I>Complete Encyclopedia</B></I> that "John Reich sold himself into indentured service to escape to the USA from the Napoleonic Wars. As early as 1801, his name came to official attention as one of the finest engravers in the country. Opposition from Robert Scot (who must have regarded him as a threat to his own job) prevented the Mint from hiring him except for occasional odd temporary assignments. But in 1807, Scot's health (for which read failing eyesight) was a source of serious concern to officialdom; accordingly, the Mint hired Reich as Assistant Engraver at a pittance of $600 per year." <BR> "Reich's first assignment was to create new designs for gold and silver denominations: an insult to Scot. The first ones to benefit from Reich's attention were the denominations most in demand at banks: half dollars and half eagles."<BR> In 1796 and 1797 only, the Draped Bust (a.k.a. Fillet Head) obverse was combined with the Small Eagle reverse, which was in turn replaced in 1801 by the Heraldic Eagle reverse, an imitation of the Great Seal of the United States. Both designs are attributed to Robert Scot. In 1807, when Reich joined the Mint as assistant engraver, the half dollar designs were modified yet again, to the familiar and ubiquitous Capped Bust or Turban Head half dollar design. Liberty now faced left and wore the Martha Washington-style "mob cap" on her head. The reverse features a more naturalistic-looking eagle, although it bears a small shield attached or floating in the center of its breast. <BR> The present coin, graded Specimen-65 by PCGS, is an amazing memento of Scot's Draped Bust to Right half dollar type, produced from 1796 to 1807. This coin cannot be conclusively called a true proof, although it bears all the hallmarks of one, simply because such pieces are unknown from so early in Mint history. And yet, its unique qualities set it apart from all other half dollars of the type known. True, undisputed proof coins produced at the U.S. Mint only appeared around 1817. The expert numismatists at PCGS, however, thought this piece was so special that they called it a "specimen" and created a special PCGS number (6080) for it, placing this coin, alone, within that distinguished category. <I>Not only is this piece the only half dollar of the 1807 issue known as such, it is also the only piece so certified of the entire type.</B></I><BR> In the final determination, there will always be some coins that are completely prooflike from an aesthetic point of view that were not intended as such--but were, for example, the first circulation strikes from a die previously used for proof coins. The coiner's <I>intent</B></I> is the criterion that ultimately defines a proof coin (or a presentation strike or specimen strike), and that does not always communicate through the tangible evidence the coin provides. Was the coin made specially for collectors or important personages, perhaps to commemorate some momentous event? Were the dies specially polished or otherwise treated? Was the planchet cut and centered with special care? Was it struck with extra force, or more than once, to bring up all the minutiae of the design detail? Was careful poststrike treatment accorded to the resulting piece?<BR> Walter Breen makes some cogent comments in his <I>Proof Encyclopedia</B></I> that could apply to any early proof or specimen/presentation coin:<I> </B></I>"Though true proofs, in the technical sense of coins medallically made, appear to date back only to 1817 at the Philadelphia Mint, there are controversial earlier coins dating back to 1792. Enthusiastic dealers and collectors normally call these proofs anyway, because of the lovely mirror-like surfaces and matte relief details, and this is to some extent understandable, for they do resemble later proofs. What is more significant, some of these pieces appear to have been actual presentation coins, such as the 1795 half dollar given to Major the Lord St. Oswald, or the 1797 half dime sent to Matthew Boulton, or the coins of 1796 made up to celebrate the admission of Tennessee to the Union, June 1, 1796. In a few instances partial sets or groups may have been made up, unofficially, as samples of the mint's work. ... In some instances it can be proved that the individual coins were made later than the dates they bear; in others, it is dubious that they received more than one blow from the dies, though they were obviously cut from burnished strip (or perhaps individually burnished before striking), carefully positioned by hand so as to receive well centered impressions, and caught after striking in chamois or glove so that they would not receive the usual nicks and abrasions from their fellows in the receiving baskets on ejection."<BR> The earliest recorded proof Bust halves--certified as such--in the online PCGS <I>Population Report </B></I>are three 1822 Capped Bust pieces. Breen's <I>Proof Encyclopedia</B></I> lists Capped Bust half dollar proofs yearly from 1817 forward, although some are "rumored" rather than confirmed. Breen identifies various earlier years associated with "presentation pieces"; specifically, he notes <I>proof half dollars of the new (in 1807) John Reich design (Overton-113 and 114) </B></I>along with an O-109 of 1809, the remodeled Reich design that ran through 1836. Given what must have been the intense rivalry between Robert Scot and John Reich, it is conceivable that this piece represents a sop to the elder Mint engraver, a commemoration of his coin design that was about to be superseded by the younger man's work.<BR> The fourth edition of Overton-Parsley notes that on the O-109 obverse stars 7, 8, and 13 are all only about a quarter-millimeter away from L, Y, and the bust tip, respectively, and the stars, LIBERTY, and the date are all well in from the milling, "thus forming a small circle." There are no particular flaws on the reverse, save for a missing right base of F. Perhaps this die, with no overdating, no overlapping letters/numbers and design elements and no discernible die cracks, was made specifically with the intention of presenting this specimen strike to Robert Scot. It is, of course, also possible that it was made for presentation to some now-unknown VIP whose name is lost in the dusty pages of history. <BR> The surfaces of this piece make an interesting study for the processes in the early Mint. In 1807 the term "proof" was certainly not widely understood, nor was it even consistently used within the circles of mint employees. It would be another 50 years before "proof" would gain recognition and acceptance among those involved with the production and collecting of coins. This particular piece shows evidence that the planchet was highly polished prior to striking as both sides are flashy and mirror-like, as one would expect from a later-day proof. However, close inspection shows that the dies were not necessarily polished; or if so, were not completely polished as one would expect from a proof from later years. Evidence of this can be seen from the faint outline of mint frost around the stars, date, and other devices. Nevertheless, this is an extraordinary coin for 1807, and the term "Specimen" is appropriate. It appears that special attention was paid to the centering of the planchet, as the dentils are even around each side. Also, the central details are unusually strong. Note the individual feather definition on the eagle's breast above the shield and the overall strength of strike on Liberty's hair. <BR> The obverse has an even layer of golden-blue patina and the mirrored surfaces flash brightly through the color. The reverse is more deeply toned with most of that side exhibiting cobalt-blue with a rose-colored center and brilliance at the top. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a coin from the earliest years of the Philadelphia Mint, a coin that was obviously made for some special purpose. <BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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