TOTALLY ORIGINAL NGC/CAC AU50+ 1845-O $5

While a surprising number of 1845-O half eagles have been graded by the services in the AU50 to AU55 range, at least three-quarters of these coins have been scrubbed or are extremely marky. Examples whcih are as nice as the coin I am offering here are scarcer far scarcer than the 1844-O and the 1854-O half eagles and they are comparable to the 1840-O and the 1851-O issues.

Funny story. At the recent PCGS show in Southern, I saw this coin in the case of a dealer who does not typically handle nice circulated better date gold. I looked at the coin without my reading glasses and I thought the coin was graded AU58+. I was quoted $5,000 and, believing it was graded 58+ (and worth over $10,000), I couldn’t write the check fast enough. Later, when reviewing the coins I bought, I realized this coin was only a 50+ but it faces up as well as what I would expect to see in a 58+ holder. My grade for this coin is solid AU53 with a shot at 55. The color is an original deep green-gold with plenty of mint luster seen on both sides.

No CAC approved 1845-O in AU50 has ever sold at auction. There are four APR’s for PCGS/CAC AU53 coins between the end of 2022 (when a coin sold for $5,040) and the end of 2023 when another example realized $5,160. Two other sales occur ed in 2023 with one at $6,600 and the other for $5,760.

CAC has approved two in AU50 (including this one coin in 50+) with 24 finer.

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