1896-O 50C MS(PCGS#6475)

December 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

Commissaire-priseur

Stack's Bowers

Numéro du lot

1382

Grade

MS65

Prix

22 800

Description du lot

Condition Rarity 1896-O Half Dollar 1896-O Barber Half Dollar. MS-65 (NGC). Here is a remarkably well preserved example of a key date Barber half dollar. It is a solidly graded Gem with smooth, attractive surfaces. Softly frosted and otherwise brilliant, delicate champagne-pink iridescence is evident around the peripheries. Sharply to fully struck throughout the design, rare for a New Orleans Mint example of this design type, there is much to recommend this impressive condition rarity to the astute collector. For the connoisseur of high quality coins, the Barber half dollar series of 1892 to 1915 is among the more challenging to collect. Mintages are universally small for the era, the highest single output attributed to the 1908-O with 5,360,000 pieces produced. Most other issues in this series saw fewer than 2 million coins struck, often fewer than 1.5 million. Attrition through circulation was high for the type as a whole, and the vast majority of survivors are in the lowest circulated grades. Only limited numbers of Mint State coins were preserved, and this is particularly true for many of the early mintmarked issues from the 1890s. Indeed, the 1896-O is among the more elusive Barber halves in Mint State. In a letter to Q. David Bowers written during preparation of our (Bowers and Merena's) April 1997 Eliasberg Collection sale, David Lawrence actually ranked the 1896-O as the second rarest Barber half dollar issue in Mint State behind the 1904-S. We reprint here an observation that Dave Bowers included in his cataloging of the Eliasberg 1896-O that further illustrates the significance of this coin: "Years ago when Barber half dollars in high grades were more available than they are now, the 1896 and 1897 mintmark issues were regraded as great classics in the field. We recall circa 1953-1954 when Art and Paul Kagin were very proud of examples they owned, one each of the 1896-O, 1896-S, 1897-O, and 1897-S halves. In the intervening years little attention has been paid to these and other high-grade rarities in the Barber series, simply because specimens are infrequently offered, and when they are, the aesthetic appeal is apt to fall short." Little has changed since Dave wrote those words 23 years ago, during which time our offerings for Mint State examples of this issue can be counted on two hands. Most were in the MS-60 to MS-64 grade range, with noticeable surface marks and/or indifferent luster. Among the finest and most aesthetically appealing examples of this challenging issue that we have ever handled, this Gem MS-65 example from the Larry H. Miller Collection will be a highlight in another advanced cabinet. Provenance: From the Larry H. Miller Collection. NGC Census: 5; 2 finer (both MS-66). attPCGS# 6475. NGC ID: 24LW. Click here for certification details from NGC.