1837 Capped Bust Half Dollar. Reeded Edge. 50 CENTS. GR-23. Rarity-2. MS-65 (NGC).
Offered is an above average example of this Reeded Edge type coin, issued only in 1836 and 1837, before the denomination was changed from 50 CENTS to HALF DOL. starting in 1838. Both sides are dusted with pretty iridescent toning in vivid champagne-pink and golden-apricot. The detail is a bit soft at the borders, the result of die fatigue, but central striking definition is razor sharp to full. This coin and other high grade 1837 half dollars may owe their exceptional preservation to the Panic of 1837, which settled over the United States after New York City banks suspended specie payments on May 10, 1837. Bank customers could no longer exchange paper at par for specie, leaving paper money and copper coinage to carry the work of day-to-day business in most areas of the country. Millions of half dollars, along with Spanish colonial 8 reales and smaller subsidiary denominations, sat in bank vaults, despite the 1837 establishment of a bullion fund by Act of Congress that allowed the U.S. Mint to produce silver coins without waiting for deposits of bullion. By the time the panic subsided, allowing silver coins to reenter circulation, few Gems were left among the bank stockpiles. Today, more than 90% of Mint State 1837 halves certified by PCGS and NGC grade MS-64 or lower. For the quality-conscious type collector, this offering represents a fleeting bidding opportunity.
PCGS# 6176. NGC ID: 24G4.
From the Huber Collection.