1864 $5 MS(PCGS#8296)

The March 2011 Baltimore Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

6538

Grade

XF40

Price

3,278

Lot Description

1864 Liberty Half Eagle. EF-40 (PCGS). OGH. A highly elusive Civil War-era Half Eagle, the 1864 boasts a paltry original mintage of 4,170 business strikes. Attrition due to melting was quite high, and survivors are seldom offered in any grade. This richly patinated, reddish-orange example reveals ample evidence of a prooflike finish as the surfaces rotate under a light. A planchet flaw or strikethrough (either way it is as made) affects the detail along he right-obverse border, but otherwise we note suitably bold definition at the EF grade level. Most of the scattered abrasions are singularly inconspicuous to the eye.