Variety 15-H.

The 1846-D Normal Mintmark is overshadowed by the visually appealing 1846-D/D half eagle but it is a scarcer coin, especially in higher grades. In fact, I rank it as the fifth scarcest of 26 half eagles from this mint and it is extremely hard to find above AU50 with natural color and choice surfaces.

The pleasing example shows natural medium to deep russet color with slightly deeper hues seen on the reverse. A few light hairlines can be seen on the left obverse but these are almost impossible to notice without tilting the coin towards a strong light source. The reverse is very choice and grades AU55 or better on its own. Visually, this is an impressive and wholesome coin.

Just two PCGS AU53′s have sold at auction since 2007. A nice example brought $4,169 as Heritage 10/11: 4903 while a not-so-nice one realized $3,450 as Heritage 3/11: 4746.

I have not handled an example of this date in any grade higher than AU55 in close to four years and feel it is overlooked within the Dahlonega half eagle series.