KEY DATE 1842-C SMALL DATE HALF EAGLE WITH CAC APPROVAL

Small Date variety.

With a mintage of just 4,595 the 1842-C Small Date is the indisputable key to the Charlotte half eagle set. Values for this variety have dropped in recent years not due to the rarity of this issue but due to how supremely awful many of the third-party graded pieces are. Just a small handful of the collector grade Small Dates are choice and original.

In my opinion, this attractive coin is a lock EF40 with strong details on the hair and feathers not to mention deep, 100% original green-gold color. I can only assume the ultra-conservative PCGS grade is due to weakness of strike on the reverse rim from 10;00 to 12:00. Take a look at Heritage 2014 ANA, graded EF40  by PCGS and approved by PCGS, which I think grades five points lower than the Rio Grande collection example.

No PCGS VF35 1842-C Small Date has sold at auction since 1999. A CAC approved PCGS VF30 sold four times between 2010 and 2017 at a range of $9,002 to $12,650.

If you are working on a set of unadulterated Charlotte half eagles, you know how hard this issue is to locate.

CAC has approved two in this grade with eight finer.

FROM THE RIO GRANDE COLLECTION