Variety 2. By far the rarer of the varieties for this year.

The 1851-O half eagle is comparable in rarity to the 1845-O and 1857-O. There are probably not more than 100 or so examples known, mostly in the EF40 to AU50 range. Properly graded AU55 to AU58 pieces are quite rare and this remains a very rare and expensive issue in Uncirculated.

This fresh-to-the-market slider shows very little in the way of actual wear with copious amount of mint luster seen on both sides. The color is right for the issue with light to medium greenish-gold hues and this is one of the few 1851-O half eagles I have seen in some time that hasn’t been processed. The surfaces show a few small marks including a mint-made chip at the bridge of Liberty’s nose. The strike is typical for the issue with flatness seen at the centers as well as on the radial lines in a few of the stars.

No PCGS AU58 1851-O half eagle has sold at auction since the Bass III: 435 coin realized $6,900 back in May 2000. The last NGC AU58 example to sell at auction realized $6,463 as Heritage 6/13: 4772.

It is almost impossible to find properly graded AU58 1851-O half eagles and this exceptional piece will fit comfortably in a high-end collection of New Orleans half eagles.

Ex Bass II (Bowers and Merena 2/99): 1030, where it sold for $6,325 as PCGS AU55. While not pedigreed on the holder by PCGS, it is easy to plate match this as the Bass 2 coin.