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1825 50C --Damaged--NCS. VF Details....
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Sold on Apr 29, 2010 for:
$25,300.00
Bid Source: Live: Floor bidder
Description
Extremely Rare 1825 O-118 Half Dollar, VF Details
1825 50C --Damaged--NCS. VF Details. O-118, High R.7. Recently discovered, this is the fourth known 1825 O-118 half dollar, one of the major new variety discoveries after publication of the 1970 second edition of Overton. All four known examples grade Fine or Very Fine.The obverse is a new die that was unknown to Overton. Aside from the prominent die crack from the border to the low curl between the 2 and 5, it also has sharp recutting of the three lowest points of star 11. The reverse die was also used for 1824 O-116 and 1825 O-103. The E and D of UNITED are joined, with the D slightly higher. The A and M of AMERICA are also solidly joined, with MERI each extremely close but separated.
Bust Half Nut Club member Olin Carter discovered the variety about 1983 at an Oregon coin shop. Sheridan Downey has described the discovery coin as Fine sharpness with dull surfaces. It is the plate coin in the third and fourth editions of Overton.
Pennsylvania collector Charles Erb located the second example in the early 1990s, and sold the coin to the late Charlton E. "Swampy" Meyer, Jr., of Louisiana. That coin was used to illustrate the die crack at the date in Dr. Glenn Peterson's reference, The Ultimate Guide to Attributing Bust Half Dollars. The Erb-Meyer specimen grades about VF20 or a little finer.
A third example was discovered after it was submitted to ANACS for attribution and grading. The coin was certified as VF20, and appeared in our May 2008 Long Beach auction where it realized $69,000.
The fourth example, the coin offered here, was recently discovered by our consigner who wishes to remain anonymous. It has the details of a VF20 or 25 coin, with minor damage as noted on the holder. The obverse has a few tiny scrapes on the bust, and both sides have myriad fine scratches. However, the toning is deep steel in the fields, with light grayish-tan on the devices, and is sufficient to mask the scratches so that they are mostly only visible with magnification.
Although the present offering is the second example of this variety that we have offered in two years, it is only the fourth offering of the variety all time, to the best of our knowledge. Sheridan Downey offered the Overton plate coin at auction in 1994 (for $50,500) and again in 2001 (for $52,553). He offered the piece a third time in 2004, that time via a fixed price list at $57,500.
With the discovery of this fourth specimen, the rarity rating of 1825 O-118 drops from Low R.8 to High R.7. Today, only the 1827 O-149 with three known and the 1829 O-120 with two known remain R.8 among the Capped Bust half dollars. Even as High R.7, the 1825 O-118 is still the third rarest variety of the entire series. Only two other varieties, 1817/4 O-102 with nine known and 1823 O-113 with 10 or 11 known, retain the R.7 rating among business strikes in this series.
Along with the 1827 and 1829 varieties, the 1825 O-118 is one of the "Big Three" in the Capped Bust half dollar series. The quality of any piece offered is secondary to the opportunity of bidding and acquisition.(Registry values: N208)
Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 24FL, PCGS# 6142, Greysheet# 6180)
Weight: 13.48 grams
Metal: 89.24% Silver, 10.76% Copper
Auction Info
2010 April-May Milwaukee, WI CSNS US Coin Auction #1139 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
Apr-May, 2010
28th-2nd
Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 12
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,759
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
15% of the successful bid per lot.
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