1815/2 50C O-101 MS(PCGS#39491)

The March 2012 Baltimore Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

4096

Grade

AU58

Price

13,225

Lot Description

1815/2 Capped Bust Half Dollar. O-101. Rarity-2. AU-58 (NGC). Soft dove gray patina blankets both sides and mingles with warmer olive-gray at the borders. More vivid undertones of golden-orange and powder blue iridescence are also discernible around the peripheries as the coin dips into a light. Outwardly smooth, with only a trace of high point wear confirming a short stint in active circulation. The strike is well centered and bold to sharp in virtually all areas. Mint records show a production figure of just 47,150 pieces for this key overdate, far and away the lowest output of <em>any date in the design type, </em>with production figures of well over one million pieces for virtually every other date in the series. Choice and appealing, and a piece that holds up well to careful in-hand examination.<br /> <br /> <strong>Numismatic Reflections by Q. David Bowers</strong><br /> The 1815/2 Capped Bust half dollar, usually simply referred to as 1815, has been one of my favorite issues for a long time. It was about 40 years ago, more or less, that my company acquired a group of several hundred pieces that had been formed by John Cobb, a West Coast dealer who specialized in Bust half dollars and who at one time hoped to write a book on them. He was scooped by Al Overton, after which his passion faded somewhat. The point here is that Cobb bought just about every 1815/2 half dollar he could find at a reasonable price over a long period of years. Nearly all of them were right at the VF level, very few higher and very few lower. This concentration within a single grade level was puzzling at the time and still is somewhat today. However, in a way a comparison can be drawn to the well-known 1893-S Morgan dollar, of which I have also had a few hoards of circulated pieces. Very Fine is the median grade for that particular variety, and coins that are strictly EF or AU are much, much rarer, as are coins in such levels as VG and Fine.<br /> The popularity of the 1815/2 half dol