Lot 939
1829 Capped Bust Half Dime. . LM-1, V-7, R-2 as a business strike. NGC graded Proof 64. Well struck with lovely golden and light violet iridescent toning on both sides. Extremely rare as a Proof, only a few were minted, and most were not well cared for. The recent PCGS Population Report shows how few have been graded this high or higher. This coin has medium colors on both sides and is very sharply struck with the possible exception of the shield stripes. The stars, curls on Liberty, lettering, devices and scrolls are otherwise crisp and fully brought up by the dies. The fields have some very minor rough areas (as minted, one being in the field above the curve of the eagle's wing), but this coin is nearly a gem. Many would in fact call it that. It may be that these were struck to observe the restoration of the half dime denomination, of which none had been struck since 1805. Once the Mint started making half dimes, they kept producing them out in fairly steady numbers, so the denomination must have proven useful to the public. Here is one of the very finer to survive in Proof condition. Pop 7; 1 in PF-65 and 1 in PF-67.
Die diagnostics: The upper right tip of the 5 in the denomination is aligned below the left border of the fletchings. Both obverse and reverse dies were used only for this single die marriage, listed as the first variety of the Capped Bust design in the Logan-McCloskey reference. Just three 1829 varieties have "three pale gules" reverse dies, the other two varieties die-linked to later "two pale gules" varieties. This variety is considered the first Capped Bust half dime minted as it is not die-linked to other varieties.
In heraldry, a gule is the vertical stripe in the shield, and a pale is an individual line being a single element of the gule. The term "three pale gule" simply states that each vertical shield stripe consists of three individual lines.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 11,000.
|
| |
| Unsold |
