1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Drapery. WB-5. Rarity-3. MS-65 (PCGS). CMQ.

This exquisite Liberty Seated half dollar offers silky smooth and satiny surfaces adorned with bright, mottled toning in vivid cobalt blue, rose-russet and golden-olive iridescence. A bit lightly struck around the peripheries, as often seen on early date Liberty Seated halves from both the Philadelphia and New Orleans mints, both sides are sharp elsewhere. Intense luster adds to the appeal of this important condition rarity. This is the first issue of the With Drapery Liberty Seated half dollar, featuring the addition of extra folds of drapery to the gown at Liberty's left elbow. This work was done by Christian Gobrecht, who seems to have added the extra folds directly to the master die, from which a new master hub was raised. In order to balance the new design, Gobrecht modified the master hub by removing portions of the rock upon which Liberty is seated, both below the foot and, in particular, in the area closest to star 1. So modified, the master hub was used to raise another, final, master die for the new With Drapery half dollar type. Although somewhat overshadowed by the 1839 No Drapery because of that issue's status as a one year type, the 1839 Drapery is nearly on par as a condition rarity. Indeed, Randy Wiley and Bill Bugert ( The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dollars, 1993) rank Mint State survivors of these two issues as Rarity-6- and Rarity-5+, respectively. The present example is among the finest PCGS-certified 1839 Drapery half dollars. For the first year type collector or Liberty Seated half dollar specialist, this is an important bidding opportunity, as once sold it may be many years before this exquisite Gem returns to the open market.

PCGS# 6232. NGC ID: 24GL.

PCGS Population: 4; 2 finer (both MS-65+).

Estimate: $17500