Heritage World Coin Auctions
FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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Liberty Half Eagles
1865 $5 MS61 NGC. Gold did not circulate in the Atlantic states during the Civil War, explaining the ultra-low mintage of the 1865 half eagle (1,270 coins struck). This final Philadelphia No Motto issue claims the sixth-lowest production in the entire half eagle series, driving record demand for the 35 or so examples of this date that survive. Bowers and Merena described this coin in its sale of the Bass Collection, Part II in October 1999, "This is certainly one of the finest known examples of this rarity ... ." It is tied for the top spot at both services. NGC records two MS61 representatives, while PCGS shows a single coin in the same grade (10/16).
Thickly frosted motifs set against glassy fields generate a degree of prooflike contrast that characterizes other high-grade 1865 representatives, unsurprising given how few coins were struck. Orange and rose-gold hues dominate lustrous surfaces, with olive accents interspersed over each side. Well-struck with scattered flecks.
Ex: DiBello Collection (Stack's, 5/1970), lot 925; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II (Bowers and Merena, 10/1999), lot 1152.
From The Soluna Collection.
1865 $5 MS61 NGC. Gold did not circulate in the Atlantic states during the Civil War, explaining the ultra-low mintage of the 1865 half eagle (1,270 coins struck). This final Philadelphia No Motto issue claims the sixth-lowest production in the entire half eagle series, driving record demand for the 35 or so examples of this date that survive. Bowers and Merena described this coin in its sale of the Bass Collection, Part II in October 1999, "This is certainly one of the finest known examples of this rarity ... ." It is tied for the top spot at both services. NGC records two MS61 representatives, while PCGS shows a single coin in the same grade (10/16).
Thickly frosted motifs set against glassy fields generate a degree of prooflike contrast that characterizes other high-grade 1865 representatives, unsurprising given how few coins were struck. Orange and rose-gold hues dominate lustrous surfaces, with olive accents interspersed over each side. Well-struck with scattered flecks.
Ex: DiBello Collection (Stack's, 5/1970), lot 925; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II (Bowers and Merena, 10/1999), lot 1152.
From The Soluna Collection.