LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2007 Jan (FUN) Heritage Signature Coin #422  / 

979

1838 50C PR66 PCGS. Ex: Pittman. Just two proof 1838 h

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:130,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 2.00 USD
1838 50C PR66 PCGS. Ex: Pittman. Just two proof 1838 h
<B>1838 50C PR66 PCGS.</B></I> Ex: Pittman. Just two proof 1838 half dollars have been certified, both by PCGS with the other coin graded PR64. The recently sold Byers collection, which offered many early proof half dollars, did not have a proof example of this date. When this coin was offered as part of the Pittman collection, David Akers wrote that three proofs of this date were known to him. He commented: "It is interesting to note that, in proof, the 1838 half dollar from the Philadelphia Mint is actually substantially more rare than the famous 1838 half dollar from the New Orleans Mint since all of the known 1838-O half dollars were struck in proof, while just a few of the 1838 Philadelphia issues were minted in that format."<BR> An impressive Premium Gem, this coin is one of the great rarities among early American proof coinage, and was considered by Akers to be "one of the greatest and most important rarities among all of John Jay Pittman's proof coins." It is a sharply struck piece with every hair detail neatly and completely delineated. The stars are sharp and show every individual radial and center. The reverse has each feather fully defined with a sharp shield, fully defined claws, and complete veins in the leaves. The fields are deeply mirrored and the devices are fully lustrous, imparting a wonderful cameo appearance, although the toning precludes such a designation. Both sides are deeply toned with lovely blue, violet, russet, and gold color. The right obverse field has a large lint mark and each side has a few smaller ones. The obverse has a faint hairlines on Liberty's cheek and neck, and a few light ivory "water spots." The reverse is virtually flawless. The visual appearance of this piece is exactly the same as it was when David Akers offered it in the Pittman sale, and it is probably identical to its physical beauty when owned by Howard Newcomb over half a century ago.<BR> Only three proofs are known, to the best of our knowledge:<BR><BR><B>PR66 PCGS.</B></I> This coin, almost certainly the finest known. Howard Newcomb (J.C. Morgenthau, 5/1945), lot 850; Wayte Raymond (5/1946); John Jay Pittman (David Akers, 5/1998), lot 1513; Bowers and Merena (8/2000), lot 4114; Bowers and Merena (7/2002), lot 301.<BR><B>2. PR64 NGC.</B></I> Apparently later recertified as PR64 PCGS. Reed Hawn (Stack's, 8/1973), lot 120; Long Beach Connoisseur (Bowers and Merena, 8/1999), lot 199.<BR><B>3. Proof.</B></I> Virgil Brand; Kreisberg-Schulman (2/1961); R.E. Cox, Jr. (Stack's, 4/1962), lot 1871. The current location of the Brand-Cox specimen is not known.<BR><BR> At least two different varieties are known for the three existing proofs! The Reed Hawn PR64 coin is JR-6 in the Jules Reiver attribution scheme, with a heavy reverse die crack through HAL, the leaf tips, the wing tip, the bottoms of UNITED STATES, and up through OF to the first A. This reverse also has nearly every vertical shield line extended upward to at least the second horizontal crossbar. The Pittman PR66, the coin offered here, is struck from perfect dies with no trace of die cracks or other die defects. It appears to be Reiver's JR-1 variety, without the die cracks that he described. Today, we think of proofs being struck in press runs of many coins. However, it appears that proofs were apparently struck on demand in the early 19th century.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coin/Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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