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1817/4 50C --Corroded--ANACS. XF Details....
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Sold on Apr 30, 2009 for:
$109,250.00
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Description
Extremely Rare 1817/4 O-102a Half Dollar, XF Details
Second Finest of Nine Known Examples
1817/4 50C --Corroded--ANACS. XF Details. O-102a, R.7. We
offered this specimen in our January 2006 FUN Sale, shortly after
it was discovered, the eighth known example of the rarity. At the
time, we wrote:"It is always an exciting event when a newly discovered numismatic rarity is reported. Such was the case when an 1817/4 half dollar was unearthed (literally!) by contractor George Williams while raking fill in upstate New York. This is the eighth known specimen of the rare overdate.
News of the discovery appeared in the October 24, 2005 edition of Coin World. Williams said he ordered a load of fill for some foundation work he was doing. He was raking the soil when he heard a 'cling.' His son Nial, 19, turned the hose on the object and revealed an early date half dollar.
The Coin World article goes on to say that when Williams returned home with the coin, his 14-year-old coin-collecting son, Cullinan, looked it up in A Guide Book of United States Coins (the 'Red Book'). The boy then printed a copy of Sheridan Downey's commentary on the 1817/4 half dollar in Collectors Universe's CoinFacts.com web site that revealed more details about the rare overdate. The entire family then became increasingly excited about the find. The coin was certified by ANACS with XF Details and some corrosion. This may well make it the second finest known survivor behind an AU50 example that [in November 2004] for $333,500.
The 1817/4 half dollar was first announced to the numismatic community in the October 1930 issue of The Numismatist, under the 'Editorial Comments-Numismatic News' section. We quote the commentary entitled NEW VARIETY OF HALF DOLLAR OF 1817 REPORTED in its entirety:
'E.T Wallis, of Los Angeles, Cal., writes that he has recently discovered a heretofore unknown variety of the 1817 half dollar, the last figure of the date being cut over a 4. A number of half dollars of 1817 over '13 are known, but this is the first one over '14 reported, Mr. Wallis says. He also says the coin is practically Uncirculated and the overdate can be seen plainly. The reverse is also an unlisted variety, as both I's in United and America have the lower ceriphs broken off diagonally toward the right, and the I in United also has the left side of the top ceriph broken off. The obverse shows a die break across the coin, starting from the border to the right of the figure 7 and through the ear and between B and E of Liberty to the top of the border. Mr. Wallis thinks the die may have been cracked when the 7 was cut over the 4 and the die may have been broken when the striking began. Howard R. Newcomb, of Los Angeles, and M.L. Beistle, of Shippensburg, Pa., both authorities on the half-dollar series, have examined the coin and pronounced it a hitherto unknown variety.'
Why is the 1817/4 variety so rare, i.e., why were so few apparently minted? Part of the reason may stem from Wallis' thought above that the die may have broken when the 7 was cut over the 4, which had been partially effaced by Mint personnel. We might speculate that this effacing weakened the die, causing premature failure after just a few strikings. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the 1817/4's cousin, the 1817/3, did not have the 3 effaced, and was produced with a considerably higher mintage. This leads to another intriguing question: was the 1817/4 struck prior to the 1817/3? If the theory that effacement of the 1817/4 caused the obverse die to break is given credence, then perhaps Mint personnel, wanting to avoid a repeat of this problem, skipped the effacement process for the 1817/3 variety.
Downey presents additional information that may help to explain the shorter-than-normal life of the 1817/4 obverse die. In his April 1, 1997 catalog of the Alfred E. Burke 1817/4 specimen, he states:
'I have seen and studied the Dosier, Overton, Burke and Meyer specimens. It is apparent that the obverse die was poorly prepared, either in 1814 or when it was reworked in 1817. Its face was 'sprung' or warped, not flat. When brought down in the screw press it unevenly impressed the planchet. The high portion of the left side of the die, the fields, could not properly smooth the natural roughness of a raw planchet. The adjoining curls, struck from the low areas of the die, are noticeably flat. The absence of pressure on the obverse, of course, led to weakness on the reverse. Thus we see flatness along the right side of the shield, the claws below and the tip of the right wing. Two theories seek to explain the shorter life of the die. First, it was not properly hardened after the annealing process, leading to its early fracture. Second, its irregular shape subjected portions of the die to unusual pressure during the coining process, again leading to early deterioration.'
A follow-up question is: why was a surplus 1814 die recycled in the first place, instead of preparing new dies? One answer to this question may lie in the early Mint's practice of using dies from previous years until they wore out or broke. This was apparently done, to some extent, for economic reasons, as die steel was relatively expensive, and it took considerable time to prepare new dies, as Craig Sholley also illustrates in a series of articles on 'Early U.S. Minting Methods' in the John Reich Journal. However, Mint personnel were continually experimenting with the forging and hardening of dies. According to the author, the early Mint had not mastered these techniques, resulting in frequent die failures. This may also help to account for Mint officials wanting to extend die life as much as possible.
The War of 1812 and its economic aftermath, along with a fire at the Mint, may also have played a role, if only indirect, in the rarity of the 1817/4 half dollar. Half dollar mintages of one million pieces plus were the rule for most years prior to the war and through 1814. By 1814, an economic recession and an associated decline in silver and gold deposits drastically reduced the mintage of precious metal coinage. In the case of the half dollar, only 47,150 1815-dated coins were produced, which according to Mint records were delivered January 10, 1816. Right after this delivery, again based on Mint records, a fire destroyed the structure holding the rolling mills and other pieces of equipment. This put an end to silver and gold coinage for at least a year, even though bullion deposits were beginning to increase again. By May 1817, with new equipment installed, the Mint resumed the coinage of silver. The first denomination struck was the half dollar, in great demand as the 'workhorse' of U.S. commerce in that era. Mint officials, who were probably anxious to process built-up silver deposits into coinage, may have, for the sake of expediency, simply retrieved a left over 1814 die from the die storage area and repunched it with a 7, causing it to break after just a few strikes. This scenario, of course, still begs the question: why were Mint personnel unable to have dies ready for 1817 coinage, especially after the production of silver coins had been off line throughout 1816 and early 1817? Sheridan Downey (1977) states: 'One might suppose that (John) Reich (Assistant Engraver) had plenty of time in 1816 to prepare working dies for 1817. Apparently not. The first two obverse dies used in 1817 were overdates (1817/3 and 1817/4).'
A registry of 1817/4 half dollars follows. It is derived from provenances provided in the Eliasberg Sale (Bowers and Merena), April 1997; the Burke Sale (Sheridan Downey), April 1997; the Dosier and Farley Sale (Sheridan Downey), October 1998; the Suros Sale (Superior), February 1999; and the Coronado Sale (David Lawrence), November 2004. They are listed (more or less) by order of discovery.
1. Eliasberg. PCGS AU50. O-102a. Downey considers this specimen to be the Wallis discovery coin described in the October 30 The Numismatist. It is the highest grade of the known examples, and sold in the Bowers and Merena 2003 ANA Sale.
2. Johnson/Witham. Fine 15. O-102a. Purchased by coin dealer Ed Johnson of Wooster, Ohio from a New York dealer in early 1940. Johnson sold it to Stewart Witham in May 1966. It now resides in an anonymous collection.
3. Meyer. VF25. O-102. Acquired by Al Overton in 1962 from an Oakland, CA coin dealer. After several transactions, it is now in the Charlton Meyer, Jr. collection.
4. Overton. Good 6, Repaired. O-102. Discovered by New York dealer Edwin Shapiro in 1963-64. After several intervening transactions, Al Overton bought the coin in 1969, and had a scratch in the eagle's wing repaired (smoothed out). It is now in a private collection.
5. Farley. VF20. Discovered by Pennsylvania collector Thomas Pfeffer in 1967. The present owner is Floyd Farley.
6. Burke. NGC VF20. O-102a. Bought by Alfred E. Burke of Philadelphia from dealer Robert Dando as a 'Punctuated Date' (O-103). It was recognized by Burke as an 1817/4 in 1973 or 1974, after he acquired the 1970 (2nd) edition of Overton's reference book.
7. Dosier. ANACS Fine 12. O-102. Bought by Milton Silverberg from an upstate New York collector in 1976 'as is.' Silverberg did not reveal the existence of his piece to the numismatic community until 1985. Downey indicates that the Dosier coin is considered to be the most 'original' of the known examples, exhibiting smooth surfaces with natural gray toning and no signs of mishandling.
8. Williams. ANACS XF Details, Corroded. O-102a. The present specimen.
[9. A ninth specimen was discovered after the 2006 offering of the present piece. The ninth known example is ICG graded VG8, with an obverse scratch, and appeared in our July 2008 auction, where it realized just under $90,000.]
As mentioned earlier, this specimen was discovered by George Williams of upstate New York. One of the outstanding features of this new discovery is its detail. The design elements display remarkable definition. The star centers are sharp, and Liberty's face, bust, and drapery are strong, as is the clasp. The eagle's feathers and talons and the shield lines are also nicely delineated. Portions of the right (facing) sides of both obverse and reverse reveal minor softness (characteristic of the variety), but even these areas stand out. The motifs are fairly well centered on the planchet, and about three-fourths of the dentilation shows. Remnants of the underdigit 4 are clearly visible beneath the 7, including serifs and crossbar. The small notch on the final star, believed to be the trademark of engraver John Reich, is evident, and the vertical die crack that is diagnostic of the die state bisects Liberty's portrait. Semi-bright, silver-gray surfaces take on a slightly darker gray appearance in the recessed areas. A few light corrosion patches are scattered over each side, but fortunately do not interfere with the design detail. Whatever surface roughness there is, it is primarily confined to the fields. All in all, this specimen is a strong contender for the second finest of the eight [now nine] known examples, despite the minor corrosion. We expect spirited bidding when this coin crosses the auction block."
From The Joseph C. Thomas Collection.(Registry values: N14284)
Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 24F8, PCGS# 6112, GSID# 6236)
Metal: 89.24% Silver, 10.76% Copper
Weight: 13.48 grams
ASW: 0.38676oz
Mintage: 1,215,567
View all of [The Joseph C. Thomas Collection, Part Two ]
Auction Info
2009 April-May Cincinnati, OH (CSNS) US Coin Auction #1124 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
Apr-May, 2009
29th-3rd
Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 14
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 8,410
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15% of the successful bid per lot.
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