Capped Bust Half Dollar

Condition Census 1807 50/20 Half Dollar

1807 Capped Bust Half Dollar. O-112. Rarity-1. Large Stars, 50/20. MS-64+ (NGC). CAC.

This richly toned near-Gem exhibits splashes of steel and russet to a base of antique gold patina. The strike is well centered and uncommonly sharp in a first year Capped Bust half dollar. Smooth, satiny, and with a striking appearance due to the depth and variation of the toning. Just a single coin has been graded finer by NGC in this category. Always in demand among early half dollar variety collectors, the 1807 50/20 is not only an obvious die preparation blunder that is evident to the naked eye, but it also enjoys its own listing in the popular Guide Book reference on United States coins. Two die marriages are known for this variety, employing the same reverse but different obverses. Overton-112 is by far the more common in terms of total number of coins extant, although in Mint State it is, like all early Capped Bust half dollars, scarce and eagerly sought. Only a tiny handful of examples grading MS-64+ or finer have been reported by the two major grading services, and the number of auction appearances of Choice Mint State pieces during the past decade has been small as indicated by Stephen J. Herrman's research published in his Auction & Mail Bid Prices Realized for Bust Half Dollars, which lists five coins at 65 and this 64+ as the top 6 specimens. Similarly, Don Parsley's Condition Census from the latest edition of Overton is 65-65-65-65-64.

PCGS# 39356. NGC ID: 24EN.

NGC Census: 1; 1 finer in this category.

From the Richard Jewell Collection. Earlier ex Highland Collection; our sale of February 2015, lot 1635.

Estimate: $ 17500