United States 1805 half dollar
This specimen was lot 2076 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $6,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"1805/4 Draped Bust Half Dollar. Rarity-5+. VF-30 (PCGS). This is the second overdate obverse with the entire 4 visible beneath the overpunched 5. Easily identified as an O-103 by the distance of star 1 from Liberty's hair curl; the other obverse has star 1 touching the second curl. A die crack is noted from Liberty's nose through the Y of LIBERTY. This example displays medium to deeper gray-blue patination with faint gold undertones that are more apparent on the reverse. Relatively strong definition is noted on the design elements. The surfaces are quite clean, and exhibit just a few minor obverse contact marks. An extremely popular and scarce die pairing for the specialist."
This issue is among the more plentiful of the early draped bust half dollars of 1801-07, altho this spectacular overdate, one of the boldest in the United States series, always brings a premium.
Recorded mintage: 211,722 (all varieties).
Specification: 13.48 g, 0.892 fine silver, 32.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 35, O-103, T-11.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
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