Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 80

June Pre Long Beach Sale

Draped Bust Half Dimes

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 278		1797 LM-2 16 Stars. PCGS graded AU-50 PQ. CAC Approved. Desirable Small Eagle Reverse "Type." Nicely toned. Only 44,527 minted. Die breaks on reverse thru E and D of UNITED. A marvelous example in terms of preservation with typically seen and significantly weak central details. The weakness is due no doubt to the very late die state described below. Light to medium gray toning over somewhat lustrous silver surfaces. Choice rims. Both sides show extremely heavy clash marks including the wreath in the obverse field and OF below the bust. Liberty's bust is boldly outlined on the upper reverse. The reverse has die cracks in and around ED. A crack from the rim through the center of E of UNITED joins a leaf below. A branch from this crack passes above E to the top of D and on to a leaf tip between D and S. A short crack connects this branch with the right top of E. An additional crack from the border to the upper right curve of D joins the branch crack at this letter. Pop 1; none finer at PCGS. The only example graded for the variety (PCGS # 38598) . Die characteristics: The order of types in 1797 is chronologically 15 stars, then 16, finally 13. The 15-star dies were left over from fall 1796, with final digit omitted, as was then common practice. The 16-star die, like its counterparts in all other silver and gold denominations, was made in 1796 alluding to Tennessee's admission to the Union as the sixteenth state (June 1). And the permanent shift to 13 stars followed Mint Director Elias Boudinot's realization that the Mint could not continue adding new stars as new states entered the Union. Date punches on the 15-star die (like those on the 1796s) are those used on the last varieties of 1795. On this 16-star die there are two different 7s, indicating that when the die was made in 1796 its final digit was omitted. The 179 are from the same punches as on the last varieties of 1795 and both of 1796; the 7 punch must have cracked, chipped, or been mislaid in the meantime, suggests the Breen encyclopedia. "One of the two reverse dies of 1797 16 stars has outer berry below D (Valentine 3); the other, less rare (Valentine 4), has outer berry between NI instead: the shattered resurrected die of 15-star coins. Obverse in this last combination is usually marred by heavy clash marks. This variety may have been minted at the end of some later year following one of the annual yellow fever epidemics, when the Mint reopened in haste and made emergency coinages from any old dies that would hold up, however briefly.". Estimated Value $10,000 - 12,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $12,925
Lot 279		1797. 16 Stars LM-2. NGC graded MS-65. Well struck and untoned. Only 44,527 minted of which merely 300 example are estimated to have survived. Pop 1; 1 finer in 66. Estimated Value $70,000 - 75,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $76,375
Lot 280		1797. 13 stars. PCGS graded EF-40. Attractively toned. Only 44,527 struck. Pop 4; 8 finer at PCGS. (PCGS # 4260) . Estimated Value $10,000 - 11,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 281		1800. LM-1, V-1. PCGS graded AU-55. Nicely toned. Only 40,000 minted. This is the first year of issue for the new Heraldic Eagle reverse design. Perfect LIBERTY with the upper inside point of star 1 close to the small middle curl. Seldom seen with perfect dies. All four digits in the date are equally spaced on this variety, and the first star is low in the field. A respectable example of the premium AU quality one likes to see for this elusive Heraldic Eagle design. Some lingering luster blends naturally with pale dove gray and golden highlights on the surfaces. Struck with the usual uneveness throughout the inner design areas, although somewhat stronger at the following locations: dentils, stars and LIBERTY along with a sharp date and other legends on the reverse. The eagle with its shield are both nicely defined. Marginal weakness in the stars above and where the obverse bust interferes with the clouds near S-OF, having pulled the metal toward it, leaving the clouds insufficient material to fill the die completely. The LM-1 1800 Half Dime is the most frequently seen variety for this date. As a side note, a fifth, variety was discovered about 10 to 15 years. Pop 26; 55 finer (PCGS # 4264) . Estimated Value $8,000 - 8,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $9,988
Lot 282		1801 LM-2. NGC graded MS-61. Only 27,760 minted. A hint of light gold tone. The 1801 is an intriguing date among the early half dimes. Die cracks and breaks seem to appear and disappear, die marriages that seem to be different are actually the same, and high-quality examples are extremely rare. The V-1/2, LM-2 die pairing is attributed by the distant LIB with stars 1-3 close, while the reverse shows a leaf distant from the last A but joined to the center of the C. Valentine called this as both V-1 and V-2. This is a fully lustrous Mint State beauty accented by light gold toning over silver-gray surfaces. The central details are sharp, but peripheral weakness is caused by obverse die breaks, curving up through the date and down through LIB. A dark lamination on the reverse is caused by inclusions in the planchet. Pop 3; 2 finer, 1 in 63, 1 in 67. Historic Note for 1801: This year, in addition to a small coinage of Half Dimes, the Mint commenced striking half dollars again, which had not been coined since 1797, The 1801 issue was the first produced utilizing the Draped Bust obverse design with the Heraldic Eagle reverse that had already been introduced on the Dimes in 1798 and the Half Dimes in 1800. Also, the famous "Three Errors" 1801 large cent was produced, with the reverse having these blunders: UNITED appeared as IINITED, the fraction was a mathematically meaningless 1/000, and there was just one stem to the wreath instead of two stems. Estimated Value $16,000 - 17,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $17,038
Lot 283		1803. Large 8. PCGS graded EF-40. Light obverse toning. Only 37,850 struck. A ring of medium gray patina encircles the reverse. Generally well struck on the major devices, while all legends, stars, date, and LIBERTY are plane. Uneven rim dentils on the reverse (not at all unusual). A choice example for the grade. Robert Scot's design for the Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle half dime of 1800 was first used on the gold quarter eagle in 1796, the half eagle in 1797 and the dollars and dimes in 1798. It features a strengthened and more artistic rendering of Stuart's Draped Bust portrait of Liberty, her hair tied with a ribbon. The inscription LIBERTY appears above the head, and surrounding the bust are seven stars to the right and six to the left. The reverse depicts a large eagle with outstretched wings-the Union Shield on its grasping thirteen arrows and an olive branch. The beak holds a ribbon inscribed with the Latin phrase E PLURIBUS UNUM (One made up of many). Thirteen stars are above the eagle, below an arc of clouds. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the periphery. A total of 124,270 Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle half dimes were minted from 1800 through 1805, with no coins dated 1804. LM-2 has a Large 8 in the date. On the reverse, a leaf from the olive branch bisects the base of the C in AMERICA. Struck from the usual die states with clash marks and on later states, a rim break on the reverse. This reverse die was used for 1801, 1802, 1803 LM-1, and 1803 LM-2 Half Dimes. Pop 7; 33 finer at PCGS. (PCGS # 4269) . Estimated Value $5,500 - 6,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 284		1805. PCGS graded AU-53. CAC Approved. Evenly struck and attractively toned. Only 15,600 struck. Pop 1; 7 finer, 3 in 55, 4 in 58. (PCGS # 4272) . Estimated Value $10,000 - 11,000. Ex Pittman Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold