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1928 50C Hawaiian MS65 PCGS. Struck to commemorat

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1928 50C Hawaiian MS65 PCGS. Struck to commemorat
<B>1928<50C> Hawaiian MS65 PCGS.</B></I> Struck to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the January 1778 arrival of Captain James Cook at the Hawaiian Islands, only 10,008 coins were struck in the Philadelphia Mint. They went to the Captain Cook Sesquicentennial Commission in Honolulu, which arranged with the Bank of Hawaii, Ltd., to distribute the coins at $2 apiece, the highest price charged for a commemorate issue up to that time. Bowers, in his book <I>Commemorative Coins of the United States,</B></I> writes that: "By all standards the 1928 Hawaiian...half dollar is the most important single silver commemorative type from the standpoint of scarcity of available specimens. Examples are elusive in all grades and are highly prized. Today the majority of examples are in the range of AU50 to MS60. Relatively few coins were preserved with care."<BR> The Gem specimen offered in this lot, unlike many survivors, has been carefully preserved. The only marks of note are a couple of minute abrasions below Cook's mouth, a milling mark on the warrior's left breast, and a miniscule mark on the upper left leg. The design elements are sharply impressed, including nice definition on the natural and cultural landscape features fronting the beach on the reverse. Fully lustrous surfaces display just a thin veneer of light champagne and olive color. This lovely specimen is sure to garner high bids from commemorative aficionados.