Sharply struck and very frosty with nice light orange-gold and rose color that accentuates extremely clean surfaces. There is a small semi-circular scrape over the two final stars and a few stray ticks in the obverse fields but nothing out of keeping with the assigned grade. The strike is razor sharp and the eye appeal is far, far above-average for the date.

The 1879-CC half eagle is common in lower grades but it is very scarce in AU58 and rare in Uncirculated with around six or seven known. I am aware of two that are distinctly finer than the present example (a PCGS/CAC MS62 that I sold privately this year to an Eastern collector and the Battle Born: 11010 coin, also graded MS62 PCGS/CAC, that sold for $37,375 after having brought $69,000 in Heritage’s 2/11 sale). In Heritage’s 8/11 auction, an NGC MS61 with CAC approval brought $21,850.

This is a piece that is high in the Condition Census and it is the only MS61+ recorded by either service. Here is a very important coin for the advanced Carson City half eagle collector and a chance to acquire an important condition rarity.

CAC has approved two examples of this date in MS61 (and just this one in MS61+) and two finer (both in PCGS MS62)

on hold