The 1842-O is the second rarest half eagle from this mint after the 1847-O.  There are an estimated 75 or so known from the original mintage of 16,400 and, when available, the typical example grades VF to EF. In AU, the 1842-O is very rare with a dozen or so known and most are held in strong private collections. There are exactly three known and the finest, an NGC MS63, was recently sold by my firm for a strong five figure price.

This coin’s strong suit is its originality and I’ve not seen more than a handful of 1842-O half eagles in any grade which show the natural color and surfaces which this piece has. Both the obverse and reverse show lovely deep green-gold color with the former just a touch deeper in hue than the latter. The strike is way better than average for the date with good sharpness seen at the centers. The surfaces show a few marks with the most noticeable of these being a small cut at the bottom rear of the neck near the inside of the final star; the rest of the coin is clean. A hint of luster can be seen in the recessed areas and the eye appeal is far above average for the issue. With just three known in Uncirculated and another two or three that grade AU55 to AU58, the present example is probably within the Condition Census for the issue.

The auction price realized archives for this date in any grade above AU50 show very few pieces sold. The only AU55 to sell at auction in the past decade was ANR 3/04: 1398 which saw a final price realized of $8,625 in a market which still didn’t fully appreciate rare New Orleans gold. (Just as an FYI, there have been just two slabbed AU53′s sold at auction since 1997 and no slabbed AU58′s!).

If you are a collector of New Orleans half eagles, you are aware of what an important opportunity this coin presents.