Beauty and rarity fuse in this remarkable coin. The “105” is scarce in all die states. The obverse die (also found on the 1817 Punctuated Date) generally appears with a swirl of die breaks and a distinct central bulge. Most are low grade. Here is a miraculous survivor of the early die state, with a diminutive (use your loupe) die break at star 9. Tim found the coin in my bourse case during the Jan. 1997 FUN Show. It stood out, not as a rarity, but as one of the prettiest coins on display. It was encapsulated and graded AU 50 by NGC. (The NGC label accompanies the lot.) Sunset colors flicker through silver-grey toning. Abundant luster argues for an AU designation. In short, a prize for the knowledgeable collector of bust half-dollars. Ponder, if you will, the $18,800 it took to capture Rex and Cindy Phillips’ PCGS AU 55 “prime” 1817 O.105 in August 2017. (Heritage’s Denver ANA Sale, lot 3970.) Estimate: $2,000 and up
Auction Ended
High Bid
Maximum Bid
Total Price
$7,200
Reserve met
$12,000
$7,920
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Sheridan Downey, Numismatist 4400 Keller Ave.,
Suite 140, PMB 398 Oakland, California 94605 sdowney3@aol.com (510) 479-1585
