| Description: |
Silver. Reeded edge. Barber's Helmeted Liberty Head obverse, Small Heraldic Eagle reverse.
Deep gold and champagne toning on frosty motifs and mirror fields. A splendid gem cameo
Proof example of one of the great rarities in the pattern half dollar series; the present
coin is one of just four examples known of J-1528, and the only example of the variety
certified by PCGS in any grade! The obverse design, a helmeted head of Liberty to left
(used in five other pattern die combinations), is sharp and crisp including virtually all
the fine details of the defiant eagle that adorns the helmet. The only hint of obverse
weakness is at the precise center of the coin where a touch of lightness is seen in the
eagle's talons and the curls of Liberty's hair directly below. (Also of interest, the 1 in
the date displays the distinct remnants of a previously punched 1 in the field to the left
of the base of that numeral.) On the reverse (which also saw use in five other pattern die
combinations) the small and somewhat squat Heraldic eagle is sharp and clear in all
details, with some lightness that barely smoothes the talon rings on the eagle's dexter
claw the only shortcoming of note where strike is concerned. (One can easily imagine
William Barber's eagle design on the present coin slowly transforming to the eagle on the
reverse of the regular-issue quarters and half dollars of 1892-1915/16 as designed by his
son, Charles Barber.) As for its elusive nature, J-1528 is not included in the holdings of
the Smithsonian Institution, the American Numismatic Society, or the American Numismatic
Association, (though one of the four specimens is impounded in the Bass Foundation
Collection). This splendid example of a famed and distinctive rarity, once a focal point
of the cabinets of King Farouk and Gaston DiBello, will likewise highlight your
cabinet.PCGS Population: 1; none finer.From Sotheby's sale of the Palace Collections of
Egypt, February 1954, Lot 1974; Stack's sale of the Gaston DiBello Collection, May 1970,
Lot 392; Robert Hughes' sale of the Byron Johnson Collection, January 1979. |
