Closed 3 variety; designated by NGC.

Varieties of 1873 half eagle are known with an Open 3 and a Closed 3. The latter is scarcer and it can easily be determined by the knobs of the 3 almost touching and this digit resembling an 8 from an initial inspection. The 1873 Closed 3 is scarce and underrated in properly graded MS63, rare in MS64 and very rare in Gem with probably no more than four or five known. The last Gem to hit the market was Heritage 2005 FUN, slabbed as an MS65 by PCGS, which brought $19,550.

This is a very high end coin for the grade which makes strong claims to residing in an MS64 holder. It is very frosty with nice soft rose and orange-gold hues splashed atop lightly marked surfaces. A long, think mark in the left obverse field can be seen with the naked eye; the reverse is really choice and grades at least MS64 to MS64+ on its own.

The last MS63 1873 Closed 3 half eagle to sell at auction was an NGC example, without CAC approval, which sold for $3,819. In my opinion, it was not an especially choice coin for the assigned grade.

If you can find an MS64 1873 Closed 3, it is going to cost you at least $8,000 (more with CAC approval) and you’ll probably not own a coin with any more visual impact than this lovely piece.

CAC has approved just this one example in MS63 with one finer (MS64).