The 1843-C is one of the more available early date Charlotte mint half eagles but it is not often seen in the higher AU grades. It was formerly very rare in Uncirculated but there seems to be a small hoard(let) of MS61 to MS63 coins which has reached the market during the last decade.

This is a choice “slider” with more luster than what is seen on many MS61 Charlotte half eagles. It shows natural medium green-gold color and just the slightest amount of rub on the high spots of the obverse. There is a small vertical nick on the cheek of Liberty and another mark on the reverse, this one at the center near the right side of the shield. The naked-eye appearance is outstanding and I like this piece more than the PCGS/CAC MS61 that was offered to me at the recent Las Vegas coin show for nearly triple the price of this example.

There have been only three PCGS AU58′s sold at auction since the beginning of 2001. The last was ex Heritage 1/08: 4197 (non-CAC) which brought $6,325. Since then,  AU58 Trends has dropped but this is the result of a few low-end NGC coins having sold cheaply at auction.

A pleasing piece which works equally well for the date or type collector.

CAC has approved two in this grade with none finer.