RARE AND UNDERVALUED AU58+ 1859 HALF EAGLE

The 1859 is the scarcest Philadelphia half eagle made between 1843 and the Civil War and fewer than 100 exist from the original mintage of 16,734 business strikes. This date is very rare in Uncirculated with just three or four known (the finest is an NGC MS63PL) and another four or five "sliders."

This coin has an interesting history (see below) and it has the naked eye appearance of an MS61. There is nearly full luster seen below nice orange-gold and soft rose color and a few contact marks are noted at the central obverse. I doubt if this coin ever saw any commercial use but it does exhibit a bit of "bag friction."

This coin first surfaced (in an OGH PCGS AU58 holder) as Lot 13715 in the excellent US gold collection sold in the Heritage 9/16 auction. It brought $6,463 and it was purchased by a very sharp "crackout" dealer who graded it MS61. A few months later, it reappeared (now in a new PCGS AU58+ holder) as Lot 6799 where it sold to another sharp dealer for $4,935. He tried to upgrade it as well but it stayed as an AU58+ and he sold it to me basically at his cost.

As scarce Philadelphia half eagles become more popular, collectors are learning how rare some of these coins are in comparison to the better-known Charlotte and Dahlonega issues.