1838 Capped Bust Half Dollar. Reeded Edge. HALF DOL. GR-9. Rarity-3.

1838 Capped Bust Half Dollar. Reeded Edge. HALF DOL. GR-9. Rarity-3. Unc Details--Improperly Cleaned (NGC). While the centers of both sides are unnaturally bright and display hairlines, the peripheries retain greater originality, with antique-silver surfaces and colorful iridescence. The reverse die crack extending from the rim to the right of HALF, then upward through the arrow feathers, shield, and eagle's neck and head is the usual pickup point for GR-9. As the die state advances, this crack grows progressively heavier. Graham identifies an intermediate state displaying the crack but not the later die chip as his "Stage a," noting that examples in this state take real effort to find. In still later states, a chip develops within stripe 4 of the shield, as seen on the present coin. An additional crack extends from the rim through the second T of STATES to the eagle's beak and neck, eventually joining the aforementioned crack. A boldly struck representative of the variety with Mint State sharpness despite the obvious past cleaning. Koenings assigned GR-9 a Rarity-2 rating in his 2024 census. Jim Koenings Commentary: There exists a very rare die state of the 1838 GR-9 that does not have a chip in the center of stripe 4 of the shield. Later die states display a very prominent die chip in this area, as here. Provenance: From the Jim Koenings Collection. Earlier from Heritage's San Francisco Signature Auction of March 2014, lot 11334. PCGS# 6177. NGC ID: 24G5. Click here for certification details from NGC.

Estimate:$1

View all items fromStack's BowersorCoins & Banknotes