Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature US Coin Sale 1258 2-6 Aug 2017
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Liberty Half Eagles
1868 $5 MS62 PCGS. The 1868 is one in a string of low-mintage half eagles beginning in 1862, when the Mint suspended specie payments shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. Most people got used to paper currency during that period, so half eagle mintages did not return to their pre-War levels for quite some time. Only 5,700 half eagles were manufactured in 1868. Mint State examples are extremely rare. PCGS and NGC each report one coin in MS61 and one coin in MS62 (6/17). It is possible that duplication exists, but the status of this coin as one of the finest known survivors is a certainty. By our count, this representative and the James A. Stack example are tied at the top of the Condition Census for the date.
The surfaces are overtly prooflike with abundant field reflectivity, contrasting with fully struck devices. Orange-gold color paints each side. Scattered marks are present throughout, including a small scrape near star 2 and a thin, wispy pinscratch across the lower part of the bust. These trivial imperfections do nothing to affect the numismatic significance of this offering.
HID02901242017
1868 $5 MS62 PCGS. The 1868 is one in a string of low-mintage half eagles beginning in 1862, when the Mint suspended specie payments shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. Most people got used to paper currency during that period, so half eagle mintages did not return to their pre-War levels for quite some time. Only 5,700 half eagles were manufactured in 1868. Mint State examples are extremely rare. PCGS and NGC each report one coin in MS61 and one coin in MS62 (6/17). It is possible that duplication exists, but the status of this coin as one of the finest known survivors is a certainty. By our count, this representative and the James A. Stack example are tied at the top of the Condition Census for the date.
The surfaces are overtly prooflike with abundant field reflectivity, contrasting with fully struck devices. Orange-gold color paints each side. Scattered marks are present throughout, including a small scrape near star 2 and a thin, wispy pinscratch across the lower part of the bust. These trivial imperfections do nothing to affect the numismatic significance of this offering.
HID02901242017