1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. No Drapery. WB-1. Rarity-3. AU-55 (PCGS).

Peripherally toned in iridescent powder blue and champagne-pink, this visually appealing coin delivers lustrous Choice AU quality for this eagerly sought issue. Gobrecht's Liberty Seated design came last to half dollars, three years after its introduction to dollars, two years after it first appeared on dimes and half dimes, and a year after it was first seen on quarter dollars. Half dollars since 1836 had displayed a Gobrecht reworking of the old design by John Reich, with a capped bust of Liberty on the obverse and eagle on the reverse. The reverse design was retained with slight modifications; in 1842, the size of the legend on the reverse increased notably, 1853 saw the brief use of a glory of rays around the eagle, and in the 1866 the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added. Of vital importance to type collectors, the No Drapery obverse design was used exclusively in 1839, and for only a portion of that year. With Breen having called any Mint State example "prohibitively rare," the significance of this offering of an attractive Choice About Uncirculated example can hardly be overstated.

PCGS# 6230. NGC ID: 24GK.

Estimate: $5000