| Description: |
An exciting opportunity to purchase a coin that is likely without duplicate anywhere.
Deeply mirrored fields show warm and pleasing gold and rose toning against brilliant
silver fields, the peripheries framed in deep blue and richer violet tones. The reverse
fields are more thoroughly toned than the obverse fields. All devices are boldly struck
and fully detailed, with delineated centers to each star and devices and denticles
standing out in shelf-like high relief. Some widely scattered and very minor hairlines are
noted in the fields, accounting for the assigned grade. Two tiny circular planchet chips
under UR of PLURIBUS and another under E of UNITED identify this specimen.
Breen's Proof
Encyclopedia notes six 1830 half dollar Proofs, all of which were said by Breen to have
been struck from the O-110 die marriage; he notes this coin explicitly as number 5 on his
listing—it is, of course, an Overton-111. The Pittman O-108, not noted by Breen, was
described as a "possible Proof" by Akers. No other Proof specimens of O-111 have
ever been rumored or published. Only two Proof 1830 half dollars of all varieties have
been certified; a total population of six pieces seems unlikely considering that
population, which suggests a total population of well under a half dozen. Two of those six
listed by Breen are known to be the same coin (numbers 4 and 5, the 1973 Hawn coin earlier
from Merkin) and of the other four, one is described as "not verified" (from the
1954 Davis-Graves sale) and all the rest have not been seen since before 1960! Indeed, it
is possible that only two or three Proof 1830 half dollars exist from all dies and it
seems more than likely that this is the only Overton-111. Such rarity, combined with the
beauty of this coin and its importance as an American Proof coin from before the age of
steam, means that this offering is a grand opportunity for the discerning numismatist.NGC
Census: 1; none finer. This is the only Proof 1830 half dollar certified by NGC. PCGS has
certified a single Proof-62 1830 half dollar, presumably one of the few O-110 Proofs
known.From Bowers and Ruddy's sale of the Terrell Collection, May 1973, Lot 837;
Superior's sale of the Gary Burghoff Collection, January 1980, Lot 205; Auctions by Bowers
and Merena, Inc.'s Massachusetts Historical Society sale, November 1994, Lot 2252;
Goldberg Coin and Collectibles' Benson II sale, February 2002, Lot 966. |
