LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Sept. Long Beach Signature Coin Auction  / 

3523

1914-D $5 MS66 PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:16,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1914-D $5 MS66 PCGS
<B>1914-D $5 MS66 PCGS.</B></I> The present coin is among the standout specimens in this fine consignment, as one of only two MS66 pieces of the 1914-D issue certified at PCGS (7/07). NGC has also certified a single coin MS66. One could easily make the case that this coin is among the handful of finest Indian Head half eagles of the entire type, as PCGS has, including the inevitable resubmissions, certified 55 coins in this lofty Premium Gem grade. <BR> Although not a San Francisco Mint product, the 1914-D is nonetheless a scarcer issue among the Indian Head half eagle series, with a skimpy mintage of 247,000 pieces. In 2006, gold pundits Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth noted that this issue "is a scarcer date, and is frequently found well struck even on the feather tips and eagle's chest and wings. The surfaces are less granular and more lustrous than seen on many dates of this series. In terms of rarity, this date is available in most grades up to MS-64, but the populations fall off drastically at the gem MS-65 level, as seen on most dates. For this date and mint, a total of 20 coins have been graded as MS-65 ... . This places the issues (sic) just ahead of the 1914 Philadelphia issue in terms of rarity in gem, as the 14th scarcest."<BR> This coin offers so many superlative attributes that one hesitates to single one out to the detriment of the others. The surfaces are remarkably free of even the most picayune abrasions, from the exposed open fields on the reverse to the highpoints of the Indian's cheek on the obverse. Neither there nor in the left obverse field nearby--the focal points of the obverse--are there any abrasions above the microscopic sort. The color is a pleasing moderate honey-gold laced with tinges of mint-green, with generous luster and a bold strike. A small planchet flaw appears underneath OF on the reverse, but as a prestrike anomaly it does not affect the grade. More importantly, it fails to affect the enormous appeal of this stunning piece. Population: 2 in 66, 0 finer (7/07).<BR><I>From The Jim O'Neal Collection of Indian Half Eagles.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Coin Engraver:</B> Bela Lyon Pratt<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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