1844-C $5 MS(PCGS#8220)

March 2021 U.S. Coins Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

5892

Grade

XF40

Price

3,120

Lot Description

1844-C Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter-1, the only known dies. EF-40 (PCGS). Richly original honey-gold surfaces with intermingled pale rose highlights evident as the coin rotates under a light. Boldly defined in all but a few isolated areas, this is clearly a superior quality example in a lightly circulated C-Mint half eagle. Rarer than even the mintage of 23,631 pieces might suggest, the 1844-C saw particularly heavy circulation due to a combination of factors. The first of these was a loss of confidence in the privately minted Bechtler coins among the contemporary public, while the second was a fire in the Charlotte Mint that forced a suspension in production in 1845 (there is no 1845-C half eagle issue). Finer than the typically encountered EF survivor, the present example has much to recommend it to advanced Southern gold enthusiasts. PCGS# 8220. NGC ID: 25T8. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.