POSSIBLE FINEST KNOWN 1858-S HALF EAGLE

The 1858-S is one of the rarest pre-Civil War half eagles from the San Francisco mint. There are an estimated five dozen or so known, mostly in the VF-EF range. There are likely ten or so known in properly graded AU but almost none are choice and original, well preserved examples are exceedingly rare. A single coin has been graded Uncirculated (MS61 by PCGS) but this piece is almost certainly a “gradeflated” AU which was dipped.

This fresh-to-the-market example is by far the finest 1858-S half eagle that I have ever seen and it is tantalizingly close to Uncirculated. In fact, it likely saw no real circulation but it does have some bag friction on the high spots which are hard to see below the attractive natural deep rose and orange-gold hues. The strike is sharp for the issue, there are no detracting marks and the eye appeal is absolutely off the charts for the issue.

Only two PCGS AU58 1858-S half eagles have sold at auction since May 2005. The last one, offered as Heritage 11/12: 4977, brought a disappointing $12,500 but it was very low end for the grade. A slightly nicer NGC AU58 sold for $16,100 as Heritage 9/08: 3713 and the all-time record for this date in this grade was set by Heritage 2007 ANA: 1927 at an impressive $25,300.

PCGS shows a population of “6″ in AU58 but this seems inflated to me and the present example is the first real AU58 example of this date that I have ever handled. I hesitate to call it the unquestionable “finest known” but I would compare it to any other of the 58′s (and the aforementioned MS61) in a side-by-side comparison.

An incredible coin and potentially a real highlight of an advanced collection of San Francisco gold coinage.

CAC has approved just three for the date and the next “finest” grades VG8(!).