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[L#3321] 1838 No Drapery Half Dime NGC MS67

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
[L#3321] 1838 No Drapery Half Dime NGC MS67
With an incredible full strike, this lustrous gem's obverse explodes with bright golden iridescence that includes charming displays of slivery blue and pale lavender while the reverse is a rich amalgam of even deeper, more stunning shades of the same tones. Everything is original, and the coin is without blemishes such as rim marks or spotting.

The father of this coin, Christian Gobrecht, must have been full of pride to see his first tentative coin drawings executed into these beautiful Half Dimes and Dimes of 1838-1840. By using a blend of an almost transparent gown and ultra fine stars, combined with a leaning shield and curving LIBERTY ribbon, he achieved something no previous mint engraver could in capturing the soul of America's great calling. This lovely gem toned half dime nicely liberates that feeling. But beauty, like success, is fleeting; in 1840, the mint's officialdom in their finite good judgment decided Gobrecht's vision wasn't quite right. They commissioned Robert Ball Hughes to "sanitize" it. Imagine Gobrecht's mortification when he saw the post-1840 coinage! (Gobrecht died in 1844.)