1796 1/2C C-2, With Pole, BN MS(PCGS#35098)

February 2026 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part II

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

25008

Grade

VF30BN

Price

40,800

Lot Description

Significant and highly desirable Choice VF quality for this legendary Liberty Cap half cent issue. Deeply and richly toned, both sides exhibit hints of warm rose patina to otherwise dominant charcoal-copper color. A trace of micropitting is seen under magnification, and closer inspection with a loupe is also required to discern a faint scratch in the lower left obverse field and a few tiny digs within the field close in to the front of Liberty's neck. The in-hand appearance, therefore, is pleasingly smooth in a moderately circulated early U.S. Mint copper. Centering is good, border denticulation soft in several areas around both sides, but the detail is suitably bold throughout the design despite a touch of softness to the denomination HALF CENT at central reverse.<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 Larry & Ira 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, and individual coins at those levels are usually dark and porous. Our offering of this well defined and handsome PCGS VF-30 example represents an important bidding opportunity.