1053

1850-D $5 MS61 PCGS.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1850-D $5 MS61 PCGS.
1850-D $5 MS61 PCGS. Variety 24-P. (per Doug Winter's second edition and revised attribution system). The mintmark is sharp and is almost never found as such.RARITY INFORMATION: The 1850-D is the third scarcest Dahlonega half eagle in high grades, trailing only the 1842-D Large Date and the 1861-D. It is an extremely rare issue in AU55 and finer, although many non-specialists do not give it much regard. There are just a dozen or so pieces known in AU, as well as a small number of Uncirculated coins. PCGS has graded three in Uncirculated: an MS61 in the Duke's Creek Collection, the coin offered here, and an MS60 in the Auraria Collection. The Milas Collection coin was graded MS61 by NGC but it may have been removed from its holder. For the collector building a high quality set of Dahlonega half eagles, the 1850-D is a major stopper.STRIKE: The 1850-D is one of the poorest struck half eagles from this mint. The mintmark is often very hard to detect without light magnification. The Green Pond coin is notable for being among the best struck examples we have seen. The obverse has none of the typical weakness on the hair curls and shows very strong denticles. The first three stars are weak in their centers while the others have full radial lines. The reverse is incredibly well detailed for the issue with full feathers and a strong mintmark. There is some weakness on the denticles from 9 to 11'clock, which is barely noticeable.SURFACES: The surfaces show some marks but these are far less heavy than usual. On the obverse there are a few scrapes on the face of Liberty's, a few light hairlines (not from cleaning), and some shallow mint-made areas of granularity. The reverse has slightly more dense hairlines plus a light, squiggly lintmark below the eagle's left (facing) wing.LUSTER: It appears that the underlying luster is slightly impaired on the obverse while the reverse has a good deal of soft, satiny luster. Any 1850-D half eagle that has more than a small amount of its original luster present is quite rare.COLORATION: This coin has been processed and it now has an unnatural appearance. If it were dipped, it is possible that the appearance would improve dramatically.EYE APPEAL: The obverse of this coin is currently not all that attractive due to the fact that it has "turned." The reverse is quite a bit more attractive. With some careful curation, it is possible that the overall eye appeal could improve. And, the exceptional strike that this coin shows makes it highly desirable.COMPARABLES: In the Superior September 1998 auction a PCGS MS61 (lot 2043) sold for $21,850. In our August 1999 Chestatee Auction a PCGS MS60 (lot 7687) brought $21,500.PEDIGREE: Ex: Robert Hughes; Steve Contursi; Hancock and Harwell; Harry Bass Collection (Bowers and Merena, 10/99), lot 1017, where it brought $13,800. 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.