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1904-S $5 MS67 PCGS. In 1903 the San Francisco Mint pr

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1904-S $5 MS67 PCGS. In 1903 the San Francisco Mint pr
<B>1904-S $5 MS67 PCGS.</B></I> An illustrious coin pedigreed to the Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection. In 1903 the San Francisco Mint produced 1.85 million half eagles, but in 1904 the number dropped precipitously, to only 97,000 pieces. In fact, the 1904-S half eagle is the lowest mintage S-mint since the 1894-S, which is also considered quite scarce. All of the other S-mint half eagle mintages during the 1895-1904 era range from more than 100,000 coins on the low side to a couple of million on the high side, in the case of the 1898-S, 1899-S, 1901-S, and 1903-S issues. An undoubted reason for the paucity of half eagles coined this year was San Francisco's prodigious output of double eagles, amounting to more than 5 million pieces. Concerning the 1904-S half eagle Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth write, "Most of the coins seen for the date are Extremely Fine or About Uncirculated. Mint State examples are quite rare; choice and gem specimens are seldom seen. There are just a couple of superb coins known, one of which is from the famous Eliasberg/Clapp Collection. There has been a very small number of coins offered at auction in the last two decades, the finest of which is the Harry W. Bass Jr. example, which graded MS-67 and sold for $29,900."<BR> In 1999 the Bass cataloger, describing the coin and discussing its previous auction appearance, wrote, "Intense cartwheel lustre and rich rose iridescence glow upon the satiny gem surfaces of this impressive half eagle. The 1904-S is a major rarity at any Uncirculated level--even MS-60 or MS-61--despite 97,000 having been minted. With regard to the MS-67 level, this is a dream coin, almost an illusion, but actually a reality. It is certainly far and away the finest example ever certified by PCGS and far and away the finest we have ever seen. ... In our February 1976 catalogue of the Montgomery Collection, Lot 2181, reads as follows: 'The rarity of 1904-S was first pointed out by John Jay Ford, Jr., in New Netherlands Coin Co. catalogues in the 1950s. Since that time we've kept a weather eye out for top-grade 1904-S half eagles and have seen very, very few. We have not handled even a single piece which equals the present lot. The <I>Scott Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins</B></I> notes that the 1904-S is "rare in Uncirculated grade," which apparently, if anything, is an understatement.' Funny how those comments still ring true after 23 years. ... Today in 1999 the preceding statement is still true, except that in 1999 gold coins are more popular than any time in numismatic history."<BR> Little needs to be added to that description, as it aptly befits the coin today--except, of course that the coin is equally as elusive as Ford pointed out in the 1950s, and even today this specimen, the finest graded at PCGS, is virtually without peer, save for a single MS67 piece at NGC. It is undoubtedly a match for the Bass coin (and therefore the Montgomery piece), as it shows a tiny tick just below star 8, completely undistracting but matching the Bass coin exactly. Population: 1 in 67, 0 finer (3/07).<BR><I>Ex: Dr. D.C. Montgomery Jr. Collection (Bowers and Ruddy Galleries, 2/1976), lot 2181; Bass II (Bowers and Merena, 10/1999), lot 1284, where it brought $29,900.</B></I><BR><I>From The Palakika Collection.</B></I><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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