AMAZING GOLD CAC 1846 SMALL DATE HALF EAGLE

Small Date; designated by PCGS.

Housed in a faux green label holder and clearly undergraded; I feel this is a choice AU58 with strong claims to an MS61.

Varieties of the 1846 half eagle come with a Small Date and a Large Date. The former is the third rarest Philadelphia half eagle from the 1840's after the 1842 Small Letters and Large Letters. There are likely fewer than 75 1846 Small Date half eagles known with many in the VF-EF range.

By a large margin, this is the most cosmetically appealing 1846 Small Date I am aware of and I have owned nearly every high grade example of this variety. It is exceptionally well struck and beautifully toned with rich russet flashes which are deepest in the obverse fields.

A PCGS/CAC MS61 example of this variety sold for $4,313 back in late 2011 and, in my opinion, it was not as attractive as this lovely piece.

If you really understand the No Motto Liberty Head half eagle series, you will realize the significance of this connoisseur-quality piece.

For the variety, CAC has approved one in this grade with nine finer. This is the only Gold CAC.

From the California Connoisseur Collection