Liberty Head Half Eagle

1844-C Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter-1, the only known dies. EF-40 (PCGS).

Richly original honey-gold surfaces with intermingled pale rose highlights evident as the coin rotates under a light. Boldly defined in all but a few isolated areas, this is clearly a superior quality example in a lightly circulated C-Mint half eagle. Rarer than even the mintage of 23,631 pieces might suggest, the 1844-C saw particularly heavy circulation due to a combination of factors. The first of these was a loss of confidence in the privately minted Bechtler coins among the contemporary public, while the second was a fire in the Charlotte Mint that forced a suspension in production in 1845 (there is no 1845-C half eagle issue). Finer than the typically encountered EF survivor, the present example has much to recommend it to advanced Southern gold enthusiasts.

PCGS# 8220. NGC ID: 25T8.

Estimate: $ 2000