1838-O H10C MS(PCGS#4314)

March 2021 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2146

等级

MS62

价格

31,546

详细说明

1838-O Liberty Seated Half Dime. No Stars. V-2. MS-62 (NGC). Lightly and evenly toned with steel-gray iridescence, this satiny example is lustrous and sharply struck throughout. The appearance is pleasingly smooth for the assigned grade. A thin planchet drift mark through the liberty cap, tiny void above the rock, and thin strike through inside Liberty's right arm are all as made. In addition to its desirability as a first year New Orleans Mint issue, the 1838-O half dime is the only mintmarked issue of the brief Liberty Seated, No Stars design type. Examples are far scarcer than the 1837 No Stars issue, which is perhaps immediately evident by comparing the mintage figures of 405,000 coins for the 1837 issue and 70,000 for the 1838-O. These figures tell only part of the story, however, as the 1837 was saved in considerable numbers as a first year issue. The 1838-O, on the other hand, was produced in a region with little, if any numismatic activity during the 1830s and 1840s and, like all early New Orleans Mint issues, suffered a high rate of attrition through commercial use. Mint State coins are rare at all levels, and this is certainly an important bidding opportunity for advanced collectors of Liberty Seated or New Orleans Mint coinage. The Valentine-2 die pairing of the 1838-O is attributable by a low date that slants up toward the base of the rock. The present example was struck from an early state of the dies before the obverse developed extensive rust. Provenance: From the Steve Studer Collection. NGC Census: 5; 6 finer (MS-65 finest). PCGS# 4314. NGC ID: 232N. Click here for certification details from NGC.