1928 50C Hawaiian, Matte PR64 PCGS. CAC....

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1928 Hawaiian Half Dollar, PR64
One of 50 Sandblast Proofs Struck

1928 50C Hawaiian, Matte PR64 PCGS. CAC. The 150th anniversary of Captain James Cook's discovery of the Hawaiian Islands was marked by the production of the 1928 Hawaiian commemorative half dollar. Juliette May Fraser sketched the designs for the coin, using a bust of Captain Cook on the obverse and a Hawaiian chief on the reverse. Chester Beach engraved the dies. In addition to 9,958 business strikes, the Philadelphia Mint also delivered 50 sandblast, or coarse grained matte proof 1928 Hawaiian half dollars, in 1928. These coins were forwarded to the Cook Sesquicentennial Commission, the agency that organized the commemorative celebrations in Hawaii. The commission distributed these coins, along with special cover letters, to persons or institutions that were either instrumental in the history of the Hawaiian Islands, or who gave freely of their time and/or money to help make the sesquicentennial festivities a success.

We have previously handled a matte proof Hawaiian half dollar on only 20 occasions, including two previous appearances of this coin more than two decades ago. Most of those 20 offerings occurred in 2006 or earlier, with only three of them in the 19 years since. Most recently, a PR66 NGC coin in our 2024 FUN Signature auction realized $102,000.

This is an important and rare coin that should fetch a considerable sum, given its overt rarity and distinctive residence among the mostly enigmatic matte proof classic commemorative half dollars. The surfaces display a somewhat granular, steel-gray appearance, and there are no mentionable distractions on either side of this sharply defined specimen. While rare sandblast proofs are known of some other classic commemorative issues, they are largely clandestine in their origins, while the Hawaiian proofs are official issues.
Ex: Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 2/2002), lot 6270; FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2004), lot 3003.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# BYN2, PCGS# 9310, GSID# 10315)

Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 12.50 grams
ASW: 0.3617oz
Mintage: 50

View Certification Details from PCGS