1039

1839-D $5 MS62 PCGS.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1839-D $5 MS62 PCGS.
1839-D $5 MS62 PCGS. Variety 2-A. (per Doug Winter's second edition and revised attribution system). The mintmark is above the 39 in the date. This is the more common of the two varieties for the year.RARITY INFORMATION: The 1839-D half eagle is a distinct one-year type coin. It features the new Liberty Head design of Christian Gobrecht with the mintmark on the obverse. The Liberty Head motif differs significantly from that seen on the 1840-1861 issues but this fact has been curiously overlooked in the past. This is a much scarcer coin than the 1838-D, especially in high grades. There are an estimated 125-150 pieces known with 25-30 in AU and another five to seven in Uncirculated. The finest we know of is the PCGS MS61 in the Gold Rush Collection that was earlier lot 433 in the Milas Collection Sale (Stack's May 1995).STRIKE: The 1839-D half eagle is generally not a well struck coin, although this die pair tends to come better detailed than Variety 1-A. The obverse has nice overall detail with some slight weakness on the curl above the ear of Liberty. The radial lines in the stars are mostly full while the denticles show no weakness. The reverse is exceptionally sharp with full feathers on the eagle's legs and wingtips. It is typical for the reverse of this date to be better struck than the obverse.SURFACES: The quality of the planchets used to strike the 1839-D half eagle were not very good. Most show some mint-made roughness and have an overall grainy look. This piece has slight roughness in the obverse fields, which is compounded by scattered marks and a few shallow scrapes. The reverse also shows some marks in the fields but these are not deep or detracting.LUSTER: High grade 1839-D half eagles generally have a distinctive grainy texture, which this coin clearly shows. By the standards of this date, the present example shows very good luster.COLORATION: The obverse is a light rose-gold with a deeper splash of orange-gold at the center and left field. The reverse is a more even light orange-gold hue with deeper orange-gold highlights. Some light haziness can be seen on the obverse.EYE APPEAL: This is one of the most difficult Dahlonega half eagles to find with good eye appeal as nearly every surviving example has been cleaned or dipped, and even original coins show the peculiar grainy appearance described above. The Green Pond example has good eye appeal for the date with a sharp strike, acceptable surfaces, and pleasing luster.COMPARABLES: In the November 2000 Bass IV Sale conducted by Bowers and Merena, a PCGS MS61 1839-D half eagle brought $25,300. In our January 2003 Ashland City Collection Auction an NGC MS61 sold for $16,100.PEDIGREE: Ex: Chestatee Collection (Heritage, 8/99), lot 7666, where it brought $19,550); Hancock and Harwell; Leon Farmer Collection. This is the plate coin in the second edition of the Winter book and it is listed in the current Condition Census as the second finest known. Important notice: Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.