1855-D $5 Large D MS(PCGS#8263)

The August 2013 Chicago ANA World's Fair of Money

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

5174

Grade

AU53

Price

3,525

Lot Description

1855-D Liberty Half Eagle. AU-53 (NGC). In high grades (AU-Mint State), the 1855-D is the fifth rarest D-mint half eagle after the 1842-D Large Date, 1846-D, 1850-D, and 1861-D. Winter (2003) opines that only 125-150 examples are extant from an original mintage of 22,432 pieces. The Large D variety is the more frequently encountered of the two known die marriages. This is a mostly yellow-gold example that deepens to tannish-gold colors as the surfaces rotate away from a light. The strike is generally bold for the issue, although we note that the borders are a little less sharp than the focal features. Moderately abraded, as befits the grade, with no singularly mentionable circulation marks. When offered at all, the 1855-D is apt to grade no finer than VF or EF, a fact that confirms the importance of this About Uncirculated representative. PCGS# 8263.