1854-O Small Date $10.00 NGC AU53

Small Date variety. This choice, original coin shows deep, attractive green-gold color and there is a good deal of dirt in the recesses. I purchased this coin from a dealer who imports American gold coins from Europe and this piece had never seen the light of day in the American coin market until now. It is high end for the grade and as nice as examples that I have seen in AU55 holders. While typically regarded as the more common of the two varieties of 1854-O eagle, I actually see fewer choice Small Dates than I do of the more photogenic Large Date.

1863 $5.00 NGC MS60 CAC

This is among the most exciting coins that I have offered this year, both for the Liberty Head half eagle specialist and for the collector who is focused on highly important rarities. Only 2,442 1863 half eagles were struck and this is, in my opinion, the second rarest half eagle from this mint after the 1875. There are fewer than three dozen known in all grades and the few that exist tend to be in the EF40 to AU50 range and are characterized by very poor eye appeal. This fresh example has fully original sunset-gold colors on the obverse and reverse and full satiny luster. The surfaces are remarkably choice with just a few small scuffs visible to the naked eye and there is a complete absence of rub or wear on the high spots. I feel that NGC was conservative when they graded this coin as it has the visual appeal of a coin that grades at least a point or two higher. NGC has recorded two examples of this date in Uncirculated: this piece in MS60 and an MS61. I have never seen the MS61 but I'm told, from reliable sources, that it is nowhere near as nice as the present example. I believe that this coin is the single finest known business strike 1863 half eagle; a rather remarkable feat considering the rarity of this issue and its high collector appeal due to its Civil War date of issue. I don't have to stress the importance of this offering and it is certain to become a centerpiece in its new collection.

1884-CC $5.00 NGC AU55 CAC

Only five half eagles were issued at the Carson City mint during the 1880's. Of these, the 1881-CC is the scarcest followed by the 1883-CC and the 1884-CC which are nearly similar in rarity. The 1884-CC is seen most often in grades below AU50 and properly graded Choice AU coins are very scarce. This is one of the few examples of this date that I have seen with natural color and choice surfaces as most are bright and very heavily abraded. Both sides show light, even wear with pleasing medium orange-gold color. There are far fewer marks than usual and the overall level of eye appeal is very high for the date and grade. As on all known examples of this date (which was struck with a single die pair) there is an interesting raised die line on Liberty's cheek. With Uncirculated examples seldom available and very expensive ($15,000-20,000+ for a decent example), I think this piece makes a lot of sense for the date or type collector.

1846-O $5.00 NGC AU50 CAC

Along with the 1851-O, the 1846-O is one of the more overlooked and undervalued half eagles from this mint. It is actually available with about as much frequency as the far more expensive 1846-C. The 1846-O is scarce in the lower AU grades but it remains very affordable. This example is clean for the grade and well detailed with some medium green-gold color that is contrasted by natural reddish hues at the reverse border.

1856-O $5.00 NGC EF40

The 1856-O half eagle is much scarcer than the 1856-C or 1856-D yet it remains a little less expensive; a strange quirk given that it is now more popular than the former and maybe as much so as the latter. This well detailed piece shows a bit of reddish color on the surfaces and no marks of note.

1853-C $5.00 NGC AU55

I bought this coin at the recent Denver ANA show from a dealer who imports coins from Europe. I was surprised to see it in his inventory and so few Charlotte coins seem to have been sent to Europe and when I asked him how often he brought Charlotte and Dahlonega gold coins back to the States he replied "very infrequently; maybe just a few times a year." This delightfully crusty example has deep, dark green-gold color with plenty of dirt in the recesses. There are a few scuffs in the fields but this pierce has very acceptable surfaces for the grade and the color is far, far above-average. This is a nice choice for the collector who wants a single high quality Charlotte half eagle for his set.

1841-D $5.00 NGC AU58 CAC

Small D mintmark variety. This coin shows excellent detail and has virtually no real wear but there is just a touch too much friction seen on the obverse and reverse to grade it Uncirculated. Nonetheless, it has eye appeal that is superior to examples that I have seen in MS61 holders. The obverse is very choice with considerable amounts of frosty luster and nice light golden-orange color; the reverse is a bit less lustrous and its color shades a bit more towards rose hues. As a date, the 1841-D is a curious issue as it is a bit more available in Uncirculated than dates such as the 1840-D and 1842-D Small Date but it is rarer from an overall perspective. In the higher AU grades, the 1841-D is seldom offered for sale and very few auction appearances have been recorded in the past decade for coins grading AU55 and AU58. With a nice Uncirculated 1841-D now costing in the $15,000+ range, this choice "slider" should appeal to many collectors.

This is the only 1841-D half eagle in AU58 to have been approved by CAC. Only one finer has been approved.

1844 $5.00 NGC MS61 CAC

While very common in all circulated grades, the 1844 half eagle is scarce in Uncirculated and it is nearly never seen above MS62. This example is choice and frosty with lovely natural medium to deep green-gold color on the obverse and reverse. The strike is excellent and the surfaces are choice save for a few small marks scattered about the surfaces. Only four PCGS MS61 examples of this date have sold at auction since 2000. I believe that nice No Motto half eagles of this sort remain exceptional values.

This is the only 1844 half eagle in this grade to have been approved by CAC and only one higher grade piece has been approved. The CAC population for this date is just two coins.

1838-C $5.00 PCGS AU50

The 1838-C isn't the rarest half eagle from this mint (that would be the 1842-C Small Date) but it is certainly the most popular and this is clearly due to its twin status as a first-year-of-issue and a one-year type that features the Classic Head design. The 1838-C, even more than its counterpart the 1838-D, is a condition rarity. It is fairly available in VF and EF grades but it is genuinely scarce in properly graded AU50 to AU55 and extremely rare in Uncirculated. This nice example is one of the best 1838-C half eagles that I've offered for sale in quite some time. It is very lustrous with nice light green-gold and yellow color and enough "meat" to more than justify its AU50 grade by PCGS. As is common for this issue, the surfaces are noticeably abraded (the 1838-C half eagle is almost never seen with choice surfaces) but other than a small line on the face of Liberty, there are none that are really worthy of mention. Interestingly, there have been no auction prices realized for a PCGS AU50 example of the 1838-C half eagle since February 2003 and there are records of more than $10,000 for slabbed AU50's of this issue that date back as far as 1998. Branch mint coins that are numismatically significant are currently in strong demand and I expect that this nice 1838-C half eagle will prove interesting to many collectors.