| Description: |
Deep smoky steel gray at the centers with lustrous rose iridescence in the recesses of the
central devices. Outward toward the rims, the fields are soft steel gray and give way to
pleasant pale blue and sea green around the stars, date, and legends. The fields beneath
are reflective and present much aesthetic appeal. A die crack is visible from the rim to
the right side of the lowest hair curl, passing almost mid way between the date and 13th
star, though slightly nearer the date. The reverse shows some weakness at 50 C., and
around with some lines of the original planchet texture visible. Described by John Ford in
its 1957 New Netherlands appearance as "a partly gray toned Proof, showing hints of
gold and turquoise tone. Sharply impressed, but the stars only partially full, the sixth
and seventh being flat. The edge squared and the border well-defined, almost suggestive of
a tight collar during striking." He also noted that "significantly, Wayte
Raymond retained it (along with other selected pieces), when he sold the Ryder
material." An extremely rare issue, the only documented Proof specimen of the
Overton-107 variety and quite probably the only full Proof from these dies known. As David
Akers' aptly noted in cataloguing this piece in the Pittman sale, a number of deeply
prooflike specimens are known, clouding both the study and marketplace of Proof halves of
this date. This piece leaves no question as to its method of manufacture, as the above
noted Ford description attests. As a date, the 1829 half dollars are very rare with
perhaps a half dozen known, led by two in the Norweb collection; Breen includes the
presently offered piece in his census of the date as the only one known from these dies.
An exceptional specimen, one of only three Proof-66 Bust half dollars graded by NGC, one
of which is a far more common 1834 striking. Indeed, this piece joins rarity and
spectacular condition in a way that makes for a memorable coin which would highlight any
great American cabinet.NGC Census: 1; none finer. The varieties of the other specimens
certified (3 others in total) are not known.From Thomas Elder's sale of the B.H. Williams
Collection, October 1912; purchased by Hillyer Ryder at that sale; sold with the rest of
the Ryder Collection to Wayte Raymond in 1945; retained by Wayte Raymond after most of the
Ryder Collection was dispersed; New Netherlands' 50th sale, December 1957, Lot 588
"from a recently retired dealer's stock" (i.e. Raymond); purchased at the sale
by John Jay Pittman for $77.50; David Akers Numismatics' sale of the John Jay Pittman
Collection, Part II, May 1998, Lot 1491.
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