The 1846-C is the second rarest Charlotte half eagle and the fourth rarest (of 24 issues) in high grades. I am aware of five to seven known in Uncirculated and this number includes three very nice examples: the Eliasberg coin (graded MS65 by NGC but see below), the Milas coin (graded MS63 by NGC) and this new discovery.

The present coin was discovered in the Fall of 2012 and it was first offered to me for over $80,000. I passed at that price, waited patiently and was finally able to buy it for my number at the recent Baltimore show. This coin is incredibly fresh in appearance with lovely deep green-gold color and thick, frosty luster. It is obviously original with no signs of having been touched since it was struck and it is one of the most visually appealing branch mint gold coins of this era that I have seen. The strike is razor sharp, the surfaces are vibrant and clean and really the only thing keeping it from grading MS65 is a small contact mark on the back of Liberty’s neck.

The highest graded 1846-C half eagle is an NGC MS65 which is ex Eliasberg: 440. I owned the coin twice (as a PCGS MS64) and it is the plate coin in my recent book on Charlotte gold. I sold it to a well-known wholesaler who sent it to NGC where it upgraded but, alas, lost its formerly glorious color. The last I checked, it was being offered for over $100,000. The Milas: 463 coin, now in an NGC MS63 holder, brought a hefty $50,600 back in 1995; in an NGC 62 holder!

I could go on and on about this coin but the pictures speak a thousand words. It is rare, it is superb and it is fresh; a pretty unbeatable combination its today’s high-end coin market.

This is the only MS64 example of this date to have been approved by CAC with none finer.