1847/6 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. WB-9, FS-301. Rarity-5. MS-62 (PCGS).

If Liberty Seated half dollars are your specialty, the present coin will be one of the great opportunities of the year 2024. It may be quite some time before another chance to acquire an example of this overdate variety in Mint State occurs. The underdate is well below and left of the final placement of the 1847 digits. Examination finds the base serif of the 1 below and left, no apparent repunching on the 8, the 4 shows a clear base serif and a small fragment at the base of the diagonal of the later 4 at the top. The most critical element is the 6, which shows the strongest, with much of the lower loop present and a portion of the uppermost serif near the lower point of the serif on the 7. The die failed quickly or was replaced because of this blunder, despite considerable effacing by the coiner or engraver (note the light die crack at the base of the 1847 digits). Obviously this much activity of the two different date logotypes would weaken even the hardest die steel. The lower edge of the rocky base is also significantly tooled and wavy as opposed to the normally seen straight edge above the digits, further evidence of effacement efforts or additional tooling - notably in four additional waves which would actually correspond with the 1847 date if placed higher and to the right with the tops of each digit visible in the rocky base - but effaced with the these curved extensions off the rocky base accomplished by a graving tool. The obverse is a partial double die with a triple border on the right edge of the shield and some of the vertical shield lines doubled, as are the letters in LIBERTY. A small raised lump is found below star 12 along the denticles. On the reverse, there are extensive die cracks and a thin planchet streak through the letters NI in UNITED to the rim and wing nearby (which plate matches to the 1975 ANA auction). The coin itself is silver-white with muted luster in the fields. The strike is sharp and the level of preservation is pleasing for the grade assigned. The strike is rather sharp, with no significant weakness on any of the devices or denticles. This early obverse die state is, of course, far more desirable than the later states where the underdigits are fainter or missing. There are three or four known Mint State examples, all certified as MS-62 by NGC or PCGS; these cherished coins represent the holy grail for specialists of this series. Perhaps another 60 exist in circulated grades. Long listed in the Guide Book and thus desired by many more collectors than just Liberty Seated half dollar variety enthusiasts. This keeps demand strong, and prices equally so on those rare occasions when one of the Condition Census specimens appears on the open market.

PCGS# 6258. NGC ID: 24HA.

PCGS Population: just 3 grading events at all Mint State levels, all of which are in MS-62.

From the Arlington Collection. Earlier ex New Netherlands (privately); Superior's 1975 ANA Mega Auction, August 1975, lot 574; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the James Bennett Pryor Collection, January 1996, lot 129; Superior's sale of the Juan XII Suros Collection, February 1999, lot 196; our sale of the Dick Osburn Collection, August 2011 Chicago ANA Auction, lot 7028; our sale of the Richard Jewell Collection, August 2013 Chicago ANA Auction, lot 4133.

Estimate: $25000