1796 1/2C With Pole, BN MS(PCGS#1027)

Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

2014

Erhaltungsgrad

F15BN

Preis

41.480

Losbeschreibung

Dark brown surfaces are fairly even and smooth, microscopically granular, but very attractive overall. On the obverse the head of Liberty is well outlined, many hair strands are visible, the word LIBERTY is bold, the date is very bold, and dentils are mostly present. On the reverse all of the inscriptions and features at the center are quite sharp for the grade indicated. Dentils are present in most areas, strong at the bottom, disappearing near the top.<p>With only 140 or so coins extant in all grades (per Bill Eckberg, 2019), the 1796 is the rarest date in the entire half cent series of 1793 to 1857. Most survivors are from the C-2 dies, as here, examples of which have been honored rarities ever since numismatics became widely popular in the 1850s. Since then the appearance of a 1796 has been a special occasion.<p>Although not as rare as its C-1 No Pole counterpart, the 1796 C-2 is still very scarce. Perhaps surprisingly for such an elusive variety, there are several Mint State coins known, including at least three Gem Red and Brown coins. One of these, the D. Brent Pogue specimen in PCGS MS-66 RB realized $470,000 as lot 3009 in our February 2016 sale. Another is the PCGS MS-65+ RB from the Missouri Cabinet, which sold for an extraordinary $718,750 in Ira & Larry Goldberg's January 2014 sale of that collection. Beyond the handful of Mint State coins, however, the census for this variety quickly drops to the lowest circulated grades.<p>Planchet stock for this variety was derived largely from rolled sheet copper, and at least two of the survivors have Mint-made planchet clips. Whether the C-1 or C-2 was struck first remains a matter of debate, although we believe that the No Pole (C-1) with its cracked obverse die was produced first and used as a stopgap measure, until the well made obverse of the C-2 pairing was ready for coinage. Opinions differ, however, with Bill Eckberg, for one, asserting that the C-2 coins were produced in April and June 1796, with the C-1 coins following in October of that year.