468

Lot 468 - Liberty Seated Half Dollar. 1874. With Arrows PCGS PR65

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:3,250.00 USD Estimated At:6,500.00 - 7,500.00 USD
Lot 468 - Liberty Seated Half Dollar. 1874. With Arrows PCGS PR65
Liberty Seated Half Dollar. 1874. With Arrows. Warm grayish golden surfaces exhibit intense mirror luster and a splendid, matte-like appearance on Liberty and the eagle. The devices are razor-sharp, including the key star centers, all of Liberty's hair tresses, and her drapery folds. Even Liberty's sandal and toes can be made out, this coin is so sharp!

When the adjusted weight coins were introduced in 1873, the tolerance was wide enough that the previous blanks could still be used, oddly enough! The half dollars coined from 1853 through 1873 had a standard weight of 12.44 grams while the new half dollars beginning in 1873 had a weight standard set at 12.50 grams. With a tolerance of plus or minus 0.2 grams, any planchet that weighed between 12.30 and 12.70 grams was legal. Walter Breen offered the observation that the mint may not have made any actual adjustments to the previous standard in use. A likely scenario is that the press room began punching blank planchets at the new weight standard, but went ahead and coined all of the left-over blanks in storage that were awaiting to be coined. This is a wonderful Gem Proof with exceptional aesthetic appeal. Few survivors from the mintage of just 700 Proof coins are as nice as this, and only a handful of finer examples have ever been certified. (#6435)