1840 Narrow Mill $5.00 PCGS MS62+ CAC

This numismatically significant issue is the first Liberty Head half eagle to feature the second use of the Liberty Head design. While very common in lower grades, the 1840 (which is found with a Narrow Mill and Broad Mill variety) is scarce in Uncirculated and it becomes genuinely rare in properly graded MS62 and above. This fresh-to-the-market example is amongst the best 1840 half eagles that I have seen in years with exquisite green-gold and orange color atop very choice frosty surfaces which clearly have never been cleaned or brightened. The reverse shows a bold, bisecting crack that begins at the right side of the A in STATES, goes through the eagle and ends at the right side of the V in FIVE. A few wispy lines in the obverse fields narrowly keep this coin from a higher grade but its level of eye appeal is really off the charts and it would make a fantastic No Motto type coin for someone who wants a piece that is truly "special." This is the only 1840 half eagle in MS62 to have been given a "plus" designation by PCGS and it is the nicest example of this date that I have personally seen since the Heritage 3/06: 1853 coin (ex Pittman/Farouk/Green) that sold for $43,125 in an NGC MS65 holder.