Very Rare Mint State 1838-C Half Eagle
Historic First Year Charlotte Mint Issue
1838-C Classic Head Half Eagle. HM-1, Winter-1. Rarity-4+. MS-60 (NGC).
Offered is one of the most significant examples of this historic and popular, yet extremely challenging half eagle issue available to advanced Southern gold enthusiasts. Both sides exhibit sharp to full detail in virtually all areas, indicative of a superior quality of strike in an early Charlotte Mint gold coin. Full satin luster remains and mingles nicely with warm olive-gold and lighter pinkish-rose colors. The surfaces reveal only faint, wispy handling marks and offer exceptionally strong eye appeal for the issue. The Charlotte Mint commenced operations in December of 1837, a facility established to service the Southern Appalachian Gold Rush. The earliest reports of gold discoveries in North Carolina date to 1799, and by the late 1820s/early 1830s approximately half a million dollars in this precious metal were being shipped to the Philadelphia Mint (mainly by sea out of Augusta, Georgia). The total amount of southern gold deposits at the Philadelphia Mint from 1824 to 1837 amounted to $5.1 million, an impressive sum especially as a considerable amount of gold from this region was being handled by the private firm of the Bechtler family. The Charlotte and Dahlonega mints were set up so that this southern gold did not have to make the long and hazardous journey to the Philadelphia Mint. Throughout the nearly 24 years that the Charlotte Mint operated as a coinage facility, 89% of its gold deposits came from North Carolina mines, with smaller percentages from South Carolina and California. The mint ceased operations in 1861, shortly after its seizure by Confederate forces at the onset of the Civil War. The first Charlotte Mint half eagle, the 1838-C is also the only one of the Classic Head design type. The Guide Book provides a mintage of 17,179 pieces, although an analysis done by Clair M. Birdsall (reported in Haynor, 2020) came up with a mintage figure of 19,118 coins. The discrepancy concerns the number of examples struck from the die pairing now known as HM-2 (10,959 vs. 12.688), which were delivered during calendar year 1838. The only other die marriage confirmed, HM-1 offered here, was struck from February 19 through April 16, 1839, for a net mintage of 6,220 pieces excluding 13 coins reserved for assay. Dies for the new Liberty Head half eagle did not arrive at the Charlotte Mint until May 1839, hence the use of the 1838-dated Classic Head dies during the first months of 1839. Extremely popular with collectors, the 1838-C is also highly elusive with most survivors grading no finer than VF. About Uncirculated coins are rare and represent the finest realistically obtainable by most Southern gold enthusiasts. The most advanced collectors will need to compete vigorously for the few Mint State survivors, of which we can account for only five or six different specimens.
PCGS# 8177. NGC ID: 25S5.
NGC Census: 2; 2 finer (MS-62 finest). PCGS reports only two grading events in Mint State: MS-63 and MS-63+.