by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

Half dollars will be in abundance in Baltimore. A large number of people collect bust halves, and a fair number of half dollar collectors will travel to Baltimore. Many others will have dealers represent them. The pre-ANA auctions will include ample offerings of bust halves, though less than I expected.

The highlight is the second or third finest known 1797 half dollar. Draped Bust, Small Eagle halves were minted only in 1796 and 1797. Both dates are very rare!

Stack’s will be offering the Norweb 1797 half, which is NGC graded MS-66. It is the second finest 1797 half that I have ever seen, and it is a coin that I very much like. It is certainly surpassed by the Lelan Rogers 1797 half, which is (or was) also NGC graded MS-66.

The Norweb 1797 half was last auctioned in March 2004 as part of the Haig Koshkarian type set. Dr. Haig, as he prefers to be called, purchased this coin ‘in person’ at the Norweb III auction in November 1988. This is the same Norweb auction event in which the highest graded 1861 Philadelphia Paquet Double Eagle was sold. This Philadelphia Paquet will be on display at the Monaco table at the ANA Convention.

The Norweb-Koshkarian 1797 half realized $966,000 in 2004, an auction record for any half dollar that still stands. This Norweb-Koshkarian 1797 half is certainly one of the five finest pieces of the entire 1796-97 type. The Rogers-Whitney 1796 half and the Knoxville 1796 half are also high in the condition rankings, for the type.

Flowing Hair halves of 1794 and 1795 are generally less expensive than 1796-97 Draped Bust, Small Eagle halves. Stack’s is offering multiple 1794 and 1795 Flowing Hair halves. In the B&M sale, there is one 1795 half, which is NGC graded AU-53. Superior is selling a 1795 half that is NGC graded AU-58.

Rich Uhrich is a dealer who specializes in die varieties of bust silver coins. His personal collection was auctioned by Stack’s in February. Uhrich concludes that “1794 and 1795 halves are more popular than Draped Bust halves” with either ‘Small Eagle or Heraldic Eagle reverses. “There is just something about the appeal of coins with dates in the 1700s,” Moreover, Uhrich observes that “there are many people trying to complete sets of all the varieties of Flowing Hair halves but are not collecting Draped Bust half varieties.” Also, Uhrich has found that “a lot of collectors who are not ready to spend the money for a 1794 silver dollar demand 1794 half dollars,” which are much less expensive. (more…)

by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

Superior, Stack’s and B&M are all conducting auctions in the Baltimore area before the ANA Convention starts on July 30th. A staggering assortment of U.S. coins and other numismatic items will be offered. I will discuss some of the coins that are rare, are interesting in other ways and/or are ‘in the news’ for some particular reason, like multiple examples of a scarce issue being offered in more than one pre-Convention auction.

The key Proof in the Shield Nickel series (1866-1883) is the 1867 ‘With Rays.’ The pre-ANA auctions include three of these.

Not long ago, it was thought that there were fewer than twenty-five Proof 1867 ‘With Rays’ nickels. In recent years, it has become apparent that there are more. An estimated mintage of seventy-five is listed on CoinFacts.com, and the April 2008 PCGS Population report lists a mintage of sixty and indicates that fifty have been certified by the PCGS, a number which certainly includes numerous resubmissions of some of the same coins.

My guess is that the PCGS and the NGC have certified about forty-three DIFFERENT Proof 1867 ‘With Rays’ Shield Nickels. If there are another dozen or so that have never been submitted to the PCGS or the NGC, then the total in existence is probably around fifty-five. So, it is still extremely rare in Proof format and is highly demanded as Shield Nickels are a very popular series.

Superior will auction a Proof 1867 ‘With Rays’ that is PCGS certified Proof-64 with ‘Cameo’ contrast. B&M will offer two, both of which are PCGS graded Pr-64. The first, though, is in a holder with a green label, and was thus certified a while ago. Many, though nowhere near all, of the coins that PCGS graded in the 1990s qualify for higher grades now, since the grade-inflation of 2003 to 2007. Although I have not seen this specific nickel, the catalogue image suggests that it may have really neat, natural russet toning.

Flying Eagle Cents are even more popular than Shield Nickels. The 1856 Flying Eagle Cent is a longtime collector favorite. There are six 1856 Flying Eagle Cents in the pre-ANA auctions.

Almost every coin collecting kid has acquired a few Indian Cents and has dreamed of an 1856 Flying Eagle Cent. I will always remember when I first acquired an 1858 Flying Eagle Cent. I was about eight years old, and this 1858 maybe graded AG-03. I was not much older when I first saw an 1856, a Gem Proof Flying Eagle cent that a local coin dealer showed to me. I was enthralled. (more…)

Certain to be a highlight not only of Stacks Baltimore Auction, but also of American numismatic sales of the entire year, is this fabulous 1797 half dollar in MS-66 (NGC). Not only does that make it a landmark, but the eye appeal is beyond comparison. Few early American silver coins of any denomination can come close to it in beauty.

A truly breathtaking example of the Draped Bust, Small Eagle half dollar designed by the Philadelphia Mint’s early engraver Robert Scot. It was a highlight of the famed Farish Baldenhofer, Norweb and Haig Koshkarian Collections, where it attracted intense and richly deserved bidder interest.

The 1796 and 1797 half dollars are the scarcest regularly issued silver type coins of the United States, their specific mintage is something of a mystery with 3,918 reported struck of both dates combined. Researchers debate the number of survivors, with the Overton-Parsley reference suggesting 100 to 300 of the combined dates still in existence; half dollar specialist Lano Balulescu, 75 to 200; David Lange, about 100 survivors of both dates combined. (See Jon P. Amato, “Surviving 1796-97 Draped Bust Half Dollars and Their Grade Distribution,” John Reich Journal, February 2005.

High-grade examples of either date are notoriously elusive. An occasional prooflike Mint State 1796 half dollar can be located, but the same cannot be said for 1797. Only a few pieces of Mint State quality are known, with only the former Lelan Rogers coin—a piece that brought over $500,000 at public sale in 1995—in close competition with the coin featured here for “finest known” honors.

The present Norweb specimen was purchased in Stack’s November 1955 sale of the Farish Baldenhofer Collection, where it was described as: “1797. A superb example of this very rare date. The finest striking we have ever seen. We cannot conceive that this specimen could be excelled. The coin was purchased as a Proof, however to conservatively grade it we will call it prooflike surface, definitely one of the first coins to leave the dies. Perfectly centered at deep milling, perfect color. All the requisites that the advanced and critical collector desires. . . a real prize!”

The Koshkarian cataloguer noted the Baldenhofer-Norweb descriptions, adding “in Uncirculated preservation, never mind being prooflike, the 1797 half dollar is virtually unknown. Here is a marvelous exception, a classic coin which will be forever remembered as one of the great legendary rarities of the Norweb Collection.” (more…)

Among all American gold coins one of the most famous is the 1796 quarter eagle without obverse stars. Offered in our sale is an especially high quality, especially memorable coin, MS-62 (PCGS) with outstanding eye appeal. The vast majority of other examples show evidence of circulation.

A list of important citations and articles about the No Stars quarter eagle would fill a small book! The first person to study varieties of this year in detail was J. Colvin Randall, as part of his system of early gold die varieties compiled in the late 1870s. Alas, no example of this work is known to exist, if indeed it was ever published.

However, scattered cross-references to the varieties appear in some auction catalogues of the era. Edgar H. Adams, who in the early 20th century worked with William H. Woodin in the examination of early gold varieties, offered important information in his notebook (now preserved by the American Numismatic Society), including the description of two die varieties for the No Stars obverse (two different reverses, the rarer apparently appearing in the William F. Gable Collection sale in 1914) and one variety of the With-Stars obverse.“The Gold Coinage of 1796,” by R.W. Julian, in the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, April 1967.

Walter Breen wrote extensively of the 1796 No Stars, including in his Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coinage, 1988. The latest great entry is the study by John Dannreuther, based on the notes of Harry W. Bass, Jr., which is absolutely definitive. The offered coin is variety BD-2. Generation after generation, year after year, any example to appear at auction has furnished the opportunity for enthusiastic prose in a catalogue and excitement at the sale itslef.

It is estimated that just 963 coins were struck from the No Stars obverse. After this coinage, a new die was made with stars, inaugurating a type that was continued through 1807. As to why there were no obverse stars on the 1796, as here offered, it may have been that as stars are on the reverse die, the use of stars on both sides was deemed to be redundant, but later reconsidered.

Among design types of United States coins this is one of the rarest, most treasured issues. The present coin will be a highlight in the finest collection.  LOT 2324 in the upcoming Stacks Sale in Baltimore