RARE KEY ISSUE 1815/2 HALF DOLLAR

O-101a, R-3.

The 1815/2 has long been recognized as the single rarest date in the Capped Bust half dollar series, issued from 1807 through 1836. For many serious collectors, the hunt is always on for choice Extremely Fine and About Uncirculated examples of this date but the supply is never enough to meet the demand.

This fresh-to-the-market 1815/2 half dollar had been in the same two generation collection since the early 1950′s and it was stored in an old manila 2×2 flip which has imparted very attractive deep lilac-grey color with some underlying pastels. There are some untoned spots on the obverse–most notably Liberty’s face and cheek–which were caused by how the coin lay in the flip during its years of undisturbed storage. The surfaces are clean and choice and the overall eye is far above average for the issue.

Generally speaking, around two nice AU 1815/2 half dollars appear at auction each year. The last two nice PCGS AU50 examples were Heritage 9/15: 3926 (old green holder) at $11,750 and Heritage 7/15: 3135 (CAC approved) which realized $11,163.

This lovely coin will fit into most any set of Bust Half Dollars.