RARE UNCIRCULATED 1818 STATESOF HALF EAGLE

BD-2, R-4.

There are no less than three naked-eye varieties of half eagle known for the 1818. BD-1 has normal reverse dies; it is regarded as R-5 coin with around four or five dozen known. BD-2 has the words STATESOF appearing as one word; it is an R-4 coin with perhaps 100 or so known. BD-3 has the D in the value 5D cut over a O; it is a High R-5/Low R-6 coin with around three dozen known. In total, there are 175-225 known for the date, making the 1818 similar in overall rarity to the 1820.

Unlike nearly every other Fat Head half eagle that I have seen in an MS61 holder, this lovely example is actually “new” with nearly full luster and no wear seen on the high spots. It also shows lovely natural orange-gold color which deepens to a reddish hue at the obverse border. The strike is typical for this variety with minor weakness at the centers but the overall detail is sharper than normal. The luster is frosty and crisp while the surfaces some slight scuffing in the fields as expected for the grade.

A total of seven APR’s for this variety in MS61 exist since early 2005. The most recent record for was for a clearly inferior NGC MS61 which brought $15,288 as Heritage 4/14: 5725. The present example is head and shoulders superior in every respect.

If you have been thinking about adding a rare Fat Head half eagle to your collection and your budget is around $20,000, I don’t think you can ask for a better coin than this!

CAC has approved five in this grade with eight finer.