1835 Classic Head Half Eagle. HM-6. Rarity-6. Unc Details--Cleaned (PCGS).
Die Variety: HM-6. Obverse 2: The three obverse dies of this issue are easily distinguished by the style of the digits in the date. Obverse 2 has a block 8 with a small, curved flag on the 1. The letter E in LIBERTY is repunched. Obverse 2 of the 1835 issue makes its second and final appearance in the HM-6 attribution, having also been used in the HM-5 pairing. Reverse A: A tongue in the eagle's mouth is sufficient to distinguish this die from the other reverses used for the 1835 Classic Head half eagle issue. The workhorse Reverse A struck a total of seven varieties in 11 pairings (including remarriages) among Classic Head half eagles dated 1834, 1835 and 1836. Die Emission Sequence: It is perhaps shocking that such a rare variety as the 1835 HM-6 half eagle was produced during two separate marriages of these dies. All followed the shared obverse 1835 HM-5 pairing, but some were struck from the fourth marriage in the series using Reverse A, while others are from the eighth (re)marriage of this reverse. In both instances the 1835 HM-6 appears to have been a product of that year. Die State: Obverse 2 was polished in between its pairings in the 1835 HM-5 and HM-6 varieties, which weakened the digit 8 in the date, the denticles along the border at 7 o'clock, the fore curl and some of the stars. All of these features are discernible on the present example. In the HM-6 pairing this obverse developed a prominent bisecting crack that probably explains why Mint personnel withdrew it from production prematurely. The Virginian Collection specimen, however, is from an earlier die state with no evidence of this crack. Estimated Surviving Population for the Variety: Just 20 coins in all grades (per Daryl J. Haynor, 2020), or 1.7% of extant 1835 Classic Head half eagles. Strike: This well produced example shows only minor softness to the detail within the hair curls above and behind Liberty's ear on the obverse, the eagle's right wing feathers at their junction with the left shield edge on the reverse. Otherwise we note razor sharp to full detail throughout the design, where allowed by die state. Surfaces: Lustrous frosty surfaces with faint semi-reflectivity evident in the fields. The color is a vivid deep orange-honey and, while faint hairlines are present to explain the PCGS qualifier, there are no sizable or otherwise individually mentionable marks. Commentary: Obverse 2 is the rarest of the 1835 Classic Head half eagle issue, for after striking the highly elusive HM-5 variety it later produced the nearly as rare HM-6. Similar in rarity to the HM-4 and HM-7 varieties of 1835, the HM-6 is extremely challenging to locate at all levels of preservation. The offered example from the fabulous Virginian Collection is a solid Mint State survivor that ranks among the finest known and will be very desirable to Classic Head gold variety specialists.
PCGS# 765219. NGC ID: 25RV.
From the Daryl J. Haynor Virginian Collection. The plate coin for the 1835 HM-6 variety in the 2020 Haynor reference on Classic Gold coinage.
Price realized | 2'700 USD |
Starting price | 1 USD |
Estimate | 2'000 USD |