1866-S $5 No Motto MS(PCGS#8300)

The March 2012 Baltimore Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4316

等级

AU58

价格

86,946

详细说明

1866-S Liberty Half Eagle. No Motto. AU-58 (NGC). Boldly lustrous deep orange gold with warm orange highlights throughout. The design elements are sharp with just a hint of wear diminishing their boldness, and marks of consequence are nowhere to be seen with the unassisted eye. Only 9,000 examples of the date and mint rolled off the presses in San Francisco, and&nbsp;essentially every example known today saw heavy duty in commerce, the end result a mass of &nbsp;VF and&nbsp;occasionally EF coins the norm in today's marketplace -- if indeed a VF or EF specimen even becomes available. Once any degree of AU is reached, the rarity is unmistakable.&nbsp;<em>Condition Census. </em>One of just eight NGC grading <em>events </em>at the AU-58 level with none finer -- given the rarity of the date in high grades, we wouldn't be surprised if that modest figure included one or more resubmissions. It is worth noting here that PCGS has not graded a Mint State 1866-S No Motto half eagle in its 26 years. When rare dates in the Liberty half eagle series are discussed, talk eventually turns to this date. No, it's not <em>famous </em>for its rarity, but those in the know understand what a "stopper" it is in high grade. Smart half eagle aficionados will turn to this piece and make it their business to be competitive when it crosses the auction block.<br /> <br /> <strong>Numismatic Reflections by Q. David Bowers</strong><br /> For the specialist this is a &ldquo;must have&rdquo; coin. While collecting half eagles by date and mint requires a bit of fortitude and a good bank account, still there are dozens of numismatists in this pursuit. I expect fireworks when this comes up for sale!