Lot Number 79
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1828 Sq.2, Large 8s - O.108 R.3 PCGS MS 63 (CAC)
Ex Louis Eliasberg, noted on the PCGS label. Earlier in the collections of George H. Earle and (via Henry Chapman in 1912) John H. Clapp. A magnificent coin with an incomparable provenance. My notes on the coin, scribbled in the catalog of the April 1997 Eliasberg Sale, say, “Pretty – well struck; slightly prooflike.” The handsome silver-grey toning on Eliasberg’s half-dollars was so common that it has come to be known as “The Eliasberg Look.” I bid on the coin for BHNC doyen Tim Osborne. We were not successful. Dave Rutherford outbid us. When Dave sold his collection some years later Keith Davignon made sure it stayed in the Bust Half Nut Club. In 2017 Keith consigned the coin to my August ANA Sale, MB 45. I sent the coin to CAC. It was returned, as expected, with a green sticker. Lot 33 sold for $2,548. The winner (and current consignor) wanted Overton attributions on his PCGS graded coins. Off it went to Newport Beach. Oops! It came back with an attribution but the CAC sticker was lost. Well, not really. The PCGS cert number did not change. A visit to CAC’s web site confirms that cert no. 03954759 is entitled to a green bean. I did not notice the missing sticker until writing this description, too late to have it replaced. Est. $2,400 to $3,000.
