1836 $5 HM-4 MS(PCGS#765232)

The Summer 2022 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

5045

Grade

AU50

Price

3,120

Lot Description

Lustrous About Uncirculated 1836 Half Eagle 1836 Classic Head Half Eagle. HM-4. Rarity-3+. AU-50 (PCGS). Die Variety: HM-4. Obverse 3: This die, in its only pairing for the issue, exhibits repunching to the digit 1 in the date and the letters LIB and RT in LIBERTY. There is a single forelock curl, and the digit 6 is centered under the right side of the lowest hair curl on Liberty's portrait. Reverse G: Making its first appearance in this pairing, Reverse G has no tongue in the eagle's mouth and no berry in the branch. The letters TE in STATES are higher than the adjacent A and S and there are two long denticles in the border outside the left side of the letter O in OF. This reverse also appears in the 1836 HM-7 attribution. Die Emission Sequence: This variety precedes the shared reverse 1836 HM-7 in the emission sequence. Die State: Perfect dies. Estimated Surviving Population for the Variety: 230 coins in all grades (per Daryl J. Haynor, 2020), or 15% of extant 1836 Classic Head half eagles. Strike: Solidly graded at the AU level, light high point rub hardly interferes with appreciation of a universally sharp to full strike. Surfaces: Lustrous for the grade, this frosty example also exhibits handsome color in warm olive-orange. There are no singularly mentionable blemishes, just light marks from honest circulation. Commentary: One of the more eagerly sought attributions of the issue among specialists, although certainly not the rarest in circulation strike format, HM-4 was used to strike all known Proof 1836 half eagles. This attractive About Uncirculated offering from the Virginian Collection would make an interesting conversation piece in a gold type collection or date set of Classic Head fives. Provenance: From the Daryl J. Haynor Virginian Collection. PCGS# 8174. NGC ID: 25RY. Click here for certification details from PCGS.