SCARCE PCGS MS61 1873 NO ARROWS HALF DOLLAR

WB-101.

Varieties of 1873-CC silver coins (except for the two silver dollar designs) are known with two distinct types: the No Arrows issue which weighs 12.44 grams, and the With Arrows issue which has a weight of 12.50 grams. The No Arrows issue is typically seen well worn with a sizable percentage of its estimated 250+ known pieces in Good to Very Fine. There are perhaps a dozen known in Uncirculated with the finest being the Garrett I: 354 coin which sold in November 1979 for a then-strong $30,000. It sold later, in November 2000 for $69,000, as a PCGS MS66. It is now graded MS67 by PCGS. One more Gem is known, a PCGS/CAC MS65, ex Gardner II: 98513, which brought $82,250 in October 2014.

I know what you’re thinking: “the coin is just an MS61, it has to be a slider.” This is not the case as this coin is absolutely free of wear and it has been encapsulated as an MS61 since 2001. There are no luster breaks in the obverse fields and the high spots on the obverse, most notably, Liberty’s thighs and breasts, are free from friction. The coin is toned in a somewhat subdued gold hue with areas of deeper color seen around many of the stars. The strike is sharp and marks are at an absolute minimum. I could see this coin grading MS62 if it were resubmitted in the right package and it certainly has excellent overall eye appeal for the grade.

There are three APRs for this date in PCGS MS61, but they are all for the same coin (this). See below for full pedigree information.

While PCGS has supposedly graded 10 finer than this, these numbers are inflated by resubmissions and the actual number of potentially buyable coins is limited to a small handful. The Bender Collection contains the Gardner PCGS MS65 mentioned above, while the Hansen Collection holds a PCGS MS63. That leaves the Battle Born MS64 (which last sold for $41,125) and two or three others which, while graded higher than MS61, are likely no better than this piece.

From the Old West Collection, ex Stack’s Bowers 2015 ANA: 10111 ($12,925), Heritage 2/2012: 3651 ($10,350) and Heritage 10/2001: 6994 ($7,130).

Old West Collection of Carson City Half Dollars

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