1851-O Liberty Seated Half Dime. V-2. MS-65 (PCGS). CAC.
Beautifully toned surfaces exhibit splashes of rose and olive-orange peripheral toning that are more extensive on the reverse. Both sides exhibit a base of pearl gray patina, the reverse also with iridescent undertones of pale gold and champagne-pink evident as the coin dips into a light. Lustrous with a softly frosted texture and bold to sharp striking detail to the focal design elements. Cataloged as possibly the finest known 1851-O half dime in our (Bowers and Merena's) 1996 Eliasberg Collection sale, more recent third party certification data overturns this assessment, but does confirm that this coin is still solidly in the Condition Census for this challenging issue. Richly original, expertly preserved, and worthy of the strongest bids. The large quantities of gold mined in the California Gold Rush upset the delicate balance between gold and silver in the world market. As the price of silver rose relative to gold, silver coins were hoarded, many examples later melted either by speculators or by the Mint to provide bullion for the new tenor coinage authorized by the Act of February 21, 1853. Consequently, issues such as the 1851-O half dime are scarcer in circulated grades than their reported mintages might imply. Little to no numismatic activity in the Antebellum South further explains the rarity of these early 1850s New Orleans Mint silver issues in Mint State. Al Blythe (1992) assigns this issue a Rarity-4 rating in terms of total number of uncirculated coins believed extant. Gems are of the utmost rarity, our own Q. David Bowers (2016) accounting for only 10 to 12 examples in MS-65 and higher grades. The Eliasberg-Gardner-Henry specimen offered here is premium quality for the assigned grade and would be difficult improve upon either technically or aesthetically. The Valentine-2 pairing of this issue combines an obverse with the top of the first three digits in the date touching the base of the rock, with a reverse that has heavy lettering. Additional diagnostics of the obverse include prominent die file lines at the denticles outside the liberty cap and stars 9 to 10. On the reverse of the present example, a minor die crack joins the loops of the ribbon bow.
PCGS# 4348. NGC ID: 233J.
PCGS Population: 5; 4 finer (MS-66+ finest). CAC Stickered Population: 2; 2.
From the Srotag Collection. Earlier from J.M. Clapp, probably acquired in the early 1890s; Clapp estate, 1942; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, May 1996, lot 983; Eugene H. Gardner; Heritage's sale of the Eugene H. Gardner Collection, Part IV, October 2015, lot 98147; Heritage's FUN Signature Auction of January 2018, lot 3320; our sale of the Henry Collection of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, August 2020 Auction, lot 2554.