Finest-Known 1899-S 50 Cent Piece to be Offered at Auction!

DALLAS, TEXAS: Designed by Charles Barber in 1892, after an open contest produced more than 300 design submissions from the public, none of which were deemed useable, the "Barber Half" has proven a popular coin with collectors ever since.

"As we present this 1899-S Half Dollar to the coin-collecting fraternity, we're very pleased to offer the single finest example of this date certified by PCGS or NGC in 20 years of numismatic certification," said Greg Rohan, President of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries. "In fact, it is our belief that this is the finest known example of the issue, bar none. Not even the Eliasberg coin, which was purchased by John Clapp directly from the San Francisco Mint in 1899, is as nice as this stunning example. We have handled this identical coin on two previous occasions, along with a single MS67 that we sold in January 2005 as part of the John Hugon Collection. Otherwise, MS66 is the best grade that we have seen over many years."

"This is an exceptional Superb Gem Barber half dollar," Rohan said. "Both sides have a full strike with every design element showing crisp detail, exactly as Charles Barber intended. This splendid half dollar will easily satisfy the connoisseur. The surfaces have warm, original silvery-gray color with considerable blue, rose, and gold toning on the obverse and mostly vivid gold on the reverse. Although a few tiny abrasions are evident in the hidden areas of the design, these are only visible with magnification."

"While population figures have increased recently as a result of numerous resubmissions, this date is rare in any grade finer than MS64," Rohan added. "The top four Barber half dollar collections in the PCGS Set Registry would each benefit from the addition of this specimen, with current examples that grade MS67, MS67, MS66, and MS64. Of course, this superb coin will greatly enhance any collection, at any level."

Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the 1899-S 50C MS68 PCGS in their upcoming Signature Auction, August 13-14, 2006, to be held at The Warwick Denver Hotel, 1776 Grant Street, Denver, CO, 80203.

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website, www.HA.com.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.