Large Date variety.

The 1842-D Large Date is the single rarest half eagle from this mint in terms of rarity in higher grades and it is a close rival to the far more celebrated (and expensive) 1861-D in terms of rarity in all grades. It is seldom seen above EF45 with probably no more than a dozen or so properly graded AU examples. There are two pieces I know of with claims to Uncirculated grades (the Duke’s Creek and Green Pond coins) but both have been in AU58 holders at one time in their slabbed lives.

This is among the few examples of this variety that I have seen with a good amount of mint luster as well as natural green-gold color. As is always the case with 1842-D Large Date half eagles, the surfaces are choppy. On this piece, there is an obverse scrape between stars five and six and another on the reverse below the first T in STATES. There is not much wear present and, if you know this date, you realize that the eye appeal is actually quite acceptable.

There are just five APR’s for this date in AU58 since the beginning of 1999. The last one is for this exact coin (see pedigree, below) while the one before this is for a washed-out NGC 58 which brought $21,850 as Heritage 1/04: 9015.

If you are a serious collector of Dahlonega half eagles, you are probably aware of the fact that high grade examples of the 1842-D Large Date become available maybe once or twice every three to five years. You aren’t likely to find a better example than the one I am offering here.

Ex Goldberg 5/06: 3812, where it sold for $17,825.