1804 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. Private Restrike. Judd-30, Pollock-6080. Rarity-8. Silver. Plain Edge. MS-62 (PCGS).
6.91 grams. Obv: Struck from the obverse die of the regular issue 1804 BD-4 half eagle. Rev: Struck from the reverse die of the regular issue 1804 BD-7 half eagle. A generally pewter-gray specimen with mottled toning in deep orange-russet and steely-charcoal. Well defined overall, especially in light of the extensively cracked and/or rusted state of the dies. The counterpart to the Judd-40 1808 half eagle offered below, this piece was struck privately using dies that the Mint sold as scrap in the early 1860s. The responsible party may have been Joseph J. Mickley or Dr. Montroville Dickeson, per the uspatterns.com website. The first appearance was in W. Elliott Woodward's Jeremiah Colburn Collection sale. Examples are known in silver, copper and tin, with silver impressions numbering only two or three in numismatic hands. Unusual, rare and sure to excite specialists.
PCGS# 507340.
From the Mocatta Collection. Possibly from our (Stack's) sale of the Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection, April 1966, lot 1607.