1809 Normal Date, B-2, C-1, High R.4, AU55 PCGS. Our EAC Grade XF45....

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Aug 22, 2022 for:

$36,000.00 Bid Source: Live: Floor bidder

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

1809 B-2, C-1 Half Cent, AU55
Manley Plate Coin

1809 Normal Date, B-2, C-1, High R.4, AU55 PCGS. Our EAC Grade XF45. Equivalents. Empire-58; Cohen-1; Breen-2; Bowers-Whitman 1; Eckberg 2-B. David Proskey illustrated the reverse as his Reverse C in Coin Collector's Journal (February 1881) but did not recognize this as a new variety.

Rarity. High R.4. There was a time when this variety was thought to be extremely rare. The 1962 Empire Guide rated the variety High R.7 and Cohen maintained an R.7 rating in 1971. Today, Eckberg estimates that 65 examples survive including many that were located during the last three decades.

Obverse 2 appears on Breen-2 and 3. The date is closely spaced with the tops of the 809 in a straight line, per Walter Breen, although the 9 is actually high compared to the 8 and 0. The left edge of the curl is over the right side of the 0. The southwest point of Star 7 is lightly recut.

Reverse B appears on Breen-2. The highest leaf point is below the final S and does not extend past that letter. That position is diagnostic. An outer leaf point is below the center of the upright of the D in UNITED, another diagnostic leaf position. The outside leaf point below the C in AMERICA is past the center of that letter, also diagnostic.

Edge. Plain.

Surfaces. Trivial circulation marks appear on both sides of this pleasing piece that displays intermingled tan, golden-brown, and bluish-steel toning. The dies were slightly misaligned, the obverse showing good centering and the reverse slightly off-center toward 12 'clock with narrow dentils over STATES OF.

Die State. Manley Die State 2.0. A die crack joins the tops of MERICA in this intermediate die state.

Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection. This is Ronald Manley's primary illustration in The Half Cent Die State Book 1793-1857.

PCGS Population (5/2022). For all four 1809 Normal Date half cent varieties, PCGS has certified 55 coins in AU55 and 158 finer submissions. However, this piece and one other are tied for the finest of those examples attributed as C-1.

Commentary. Richard Picker discovered this variety in 1954 and many have been identified since that time. However, the majority of known examples are in low grades. We consider Jim McGuigan's coin as the finest known 1809 C-1 half cent. The Missouri Cabinet-Pogue example carries the same grade at PCGS and is the second finest known in our opinion, and in Jim McGuigan's opinion since he traded that coin into the Missouri Cabinet, opting to keep the present example that he had acquired a dozen years earlier.

McGuigan Commentary. Choice glossy light brown toning. Identifiable by a "keg" mark on Liberty's chin. Intermediate die state (M2.0) with a crack through the tops of "MERICA" of AMERICA to the rim. Among the two or three finest known examples of the variety.

Provenance. Ex: John Gulde (circa 1973).

Personality. Like most dealers that are prominent in the national convention circuit, John Gulde began collecting coins as a youngster. He became a full-time coin dealer in Ohio and eventually relocated to Arizona where he operates the Arizona Coin Expo and other conventions with his wife, Sandy.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 222P, Variety PCGS# 35218, Base PCGS# 1123, Greysheet# 80902)

Weight: 5.44 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

More Information:

Special Terms for the McGuigan Collection:
12 equal monthly payments with 3% APR interest starting at Day 46. Invoice released when invoice is paid in full.
or
6 equal monthly payments with interest at 6% APR starting at Day 46. Invoice released within certain limits. Please contact the Heritage Credit Department at CreditDept@HA.com prior to the auction.