1814 50C O-106 MS(PCGS#39482)

January 2020 Mail Bid Auction 50

Auctioneer

Sheridan Downey

Lot Number

33

Grade

AU55

Price

4,290

Lot Description

This Condition Census rarity has been hidden away since it last traded hands, privately, in 2003.  Luster glows beneath the light amber patina.  The reverse toning is a bit darker.  The strike is first rate for the issue.  The obverse die was first used on the O.105 (see preceding lot) and always shows weakness at the rims.  The surfaces are free of contact marks, telling us that the coin may have never entered circulation.  The only comparable O.106 to appear in recent times is Davignon’s AU 55.  (Lot 15, MB 39 – Aug. 2014 – at $5,082.)  I’ve called R.5 die marriages caviar for collectors.  When an AU example appears, I prefer the sobriquet that Walter Breen coined for branch mint proofs – Peacock’s Tongues!  Pass the truffles.  Est. $4,000 and up