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1822 50C MS60--Improperly Cleaned--NCS. Unc. Details. 1822[50C] MS60--Improperly Cleaned--NCS. Unc.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1822 50C MS60--Improperly Cleaned--NCS. Unc. Details. 1822[50C] MS60--Improperly Cleaned--NCS. Unc.
<B>1822<50C> MS60--Improperly Cleaned--NCS. Unc. Details.</B></I> O-103, low R.5. <I>This is a high condition census 1822 O-103 and one of the best to be sold at auction or mail bid sale in more than a decade.</B></I> A search through our permanent auction archives shows one sale of the late-die-state O-103a variety since we began keeping records, an XF40 ANACS-graded coin sold in 2004 as part of a multi-coin lot. The autumn 2005 revision of <I>Auction & Mail Bid Prices Realized for Bust Half Dollars 1794-1839,</B></I> a standard pricing reference for Bust half collectors, shows an AU55 1822 O-103, called "finest, semi-prooflike," sold in 2001 for $4,033. A recut star 10 identifies the obverse of this die marriage, with the recutting obvious on the three lower points. A bold center dot between crossbars four and five aids the reverse attribution.<BR> The 1990 third edition of the Overton reference calls the O-103 (with no obverse die cracks) an R.6, while calling the O-103a (with the die cracks) a R.5. No die cracks are present here, indeed this piece clearly seems to be a very early strike from a fresh die. This example has disturbed mint luster in the centers that is more obvious on the obverse than the reverse, yet it retains cartwheel luster in the protected areas, as though its centers were wiped at one time. The color is a combination of silver and aqua centers, with strong copper accents in the protected areas around the periphery. The strike is virtually <I>full,</B></I> a term not lightly used in reference to Bust halves. The lefthand stars all have full centrils, but the righthand stars lack some details. There is no weakness on the motto, the eagle's wings or feathers, or the shield, although the right (facing) claw and the arrowheads are less than full. Only a couple of Liberty's highest curls are flat on the obverse. There is little evidence of die erosion, limited to the dentilation from 50C through UNITED. Elsewhere, each dentil is outlined and separated. Examination with a strong glass reveals some slight damage in the obverse field and on Liberty's cheek and chin, all in straight parallel lines, perhaps testimony to whatever havoc was wrought on this coin at one time. But this coin retains many special qualities of color, strike, eye appeal, and extreme rarity. Although this is not an NGC-graded coin, the <I>Census Report</B></I> shows one example graded of this rare Overton variety at that service, an AU58 (10/05).<BR><I>Ex: Paul Padget (7/7/90).</B></I> Envelope Included.