Variety 35-AA. Large D mintmark. Designated on the holder by PCGS.

The 1853-D is one of the two most available D mint half eagles, making it a perfect choice for the type collector who would like to own a single higher grade example. It becomes scarce in properly graded AU58 and it is rare, as are all Dahlonega half eagles, in Uncirculated.

To the naked eye, this coin has the appearance of an MS62 or better. It is untoned and bright with glowing yellow-gold color. The strike is sharp with the edge lacking the beveled appearance seen on most 1853-D half eagles. There are no marks of note on the surfaces and what appears to be a scratch on the left obverse is, in fact, a mint-made die scratch seen on early die states of this obverse die.

The last PCGS AU58 example to sell at auction was Heritage 1/13: 22936 which realized $4,700. An NGC AU58 sold for $5,581 in the Heritage 2/13 auction.

Even common dates like this are not often seen in PCGS AU58 in today’s market and this nice example should work well for the date or type collector.