A valuable coin....

ricko · November 13, 2019 11:03AM

This auction should be fun to watch.....Cheers, RickO
https://www.foxnews.com/science/rare-half-dollar-coin-worth-500g-auction

crazyhounddog · November 13, 2019 11:08AM

Yes I remember hearing about this incredibly rare coin hitting the auction block. I agree it’ll be fun to watch.

Hemispherical · November 13, 2019 5:07PM

@ricko said:
This auction should be fun to watch.....Cheers, RickO
https://www.foxnews.com/science/rare-half-dollar-coin-worth-500g-auction

The coin:

1630Boston · November 13, 2019 5:09PM

Without any research................I'm guessing I cannot afford this coin ?

P0CKETCHANGE · November 13, 2019 5:10PM

I'll have to pass on this one

blitzdude · November 13, 2019 5:15PM

@ricko said:
This auction should be fun to watch.....Cheers, RickO

She sure could use a dip prior to the sale.

Jimnight · November 13, 2019 5:46PM

Nice coin!

sellitstore · November 13, 2019 5:50PM

Needle sharp and I find the toning quite acceptable.

ReadyFireAim · November 13, 2019 6:28PM

@1630Boston said:
Without any research................I'm guessing I cannot afford this coin ?

No CAC?...Pass

Walkerguy21D · November 13, 2019 6:44PM

@1630Boston said:
Without any research................I'm guessing I cannot afford this coin ?

Heck, I can’t even afford a nice ‘39O half anymore!

WinLoseWin · November 13, 2019 8:30PM

I have always thought the 1838-O Half Dollar had more going for it compared to the 1894-S dime which has usually brought a bit more than the half.

There are the same number known to exist of the 38-O, nine, as the 94-S dime. Seems like the price spread has gotten wider over time. The half is a larger, older, a more historic first branch mint of the denomination and used to also be considered a branch mint proof same as the 94-S. Both now appear to be considered Specimen issues rather than full proofs. Still, it's out of my reach though @1630Boston should go for it without thinking. It is only at $432,000 as this is written.
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A link to the auction lot which sells on November 15th.

https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-KJQJI/1838-o-capped-bust-half-dollar-reeded-edge-half-dol-gr-1-rarity-7-specimen-63-pcgs-cac

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yosclimber · November 13, 2019 9:12PM

@ReadyFireAim said:
No CAC?...Pass

It is a PCGS PR-63 BM CAC.

yosclimber · November 13, 2019 9:29PM

The coin being auctioned on 2019-11-15 is the Cox specimen.

Roster of 1838-O Half Dollars (from Heritage 2013-1 [with a few edits])
Although most recent rosters indicate 11 examples of the 1838-O half dollar are extant, we believe only nine specimens have survived.

Smithsonian Specimen. PR60 Cleaned. Mint Cabinet Collection, formed in June 1838; Smithsonian Institution.
Eliasberg Specimen. PR64 NGC. Robert Coulton Davis Collection (New York Coin & Stamp, 1/1890), lot 655, realized $51 to the Chapmans per Carl Carlson; unknown intermediaries; Martin Luther Beistle; Colonel E.H.R. Green; B.G. Johnson; Stack's (1942); Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection (Bowers and Merena, 4/1997), lot 1911, realized $121,000 to Andrew Lustig and Don Kagin. Carl Carlson plate matched the R.C. Davis coin to the example in Eliasberg's collection, but other catalogers have suggested the Davis specimen is an earlier appearance of the Norweb piece, based on Thomas Elder's remarks in the James B. Wilson catalog. Elder made many incorrect statements in the Wilson catalog, saying the Davis sale took place in 1882, etc., so we believe Carlson's pedigree is probably more accurate. Both Carlson and Walter Breen pedigreed the Eliasberg coin to the Clapp Collection, because they knew Stack's sold Eliasberg his 1838-O in 1942, the same year he purchased the Clapp Collection intact in a blockbuster transaction via Stack's. However, the 1838-O was not part of that transaction, coming instead from Col. Green's holdings. See lot 4114 of the Philadelphia Americana Sale (Stack's, 10/2010) for sale records. [Gardner (5/2015)]
Norweb Specimen. PR64 NGC. Édouard Frossard, offered in Numisma, July 1882 edition, at $60; offered to T. Harrison Garrett on approval on September 11, 1882, but Garrett returned the coin; Édouard Frossard Collection (Frossard, 10/1884), lot 400, realized $63; James B. Wilson Collection (Thomas Elder, 10/1908), lot 346, realized $570; Albert Fairchild Holden; Emery May Holden (Mrs. R. Henry Norweb); Norweb Collection (Bowers and Merena, 11/1988), lot 3119, realized $93,500; unknown intermediary; Andrew Lustig; Legend Numismatics in 2002.
Atwater Specimen. PR63 PCGS. Col. E.H.R. Green; William Cutler Atwater Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1946), lot 555; unknown intermediary; Reed Hawn Collection (Stack's, 8/1973), lot 122, realized $41,000; Auction '79 (Superior's session, 8/1979), lot 1569, realized $62,000; James Bennett Pryor Collection (Bowers and Merena, 1/1996), lot 94, realized $104,500; Doug Noblet; ANA Sale of the Millennium (Bowers and Merena, 8/2000), lot 4117; offered by North American Certified Trading in the October 15, 2001, issue of Coin World; Heritage to Madison Collection via private treaty (9/2005); Heritage via private treaty (10/2007) to Sid and Alicia Belzberg Collection; Long Beach Signature Auction (Heritage, 2/2008), lot 600, realized $632,500.
Baldenhofer Specimen. PR64BM PCGS. Col. E.H.R. Green; W.G. Baldenhofer Collection (Stack's, 11/1955), lot 708, realized $3,200; Robert Pelletreau Collection (Stack's, 3/1959), lot 782; Jerome L. Cohen; Lester Merkin; Q. David Bowers; Charles Jay (Stack's, 10/1967), lot 181, realized $14,000; Dr. E. Yale Clarke Collection (Stack's, 10/1975), lot 253, realized $43,000; Julian Leidman; Bryan Collection (NASCA, 11/1977), lot 708; Julian Leidman; Auction '82 (Paramount session, 8/1982), lot 1689, realized $47,500; unknown intermediary; Long Beach Signature Auction (Heritage, 6/2005), lot 6244, realized $632,500; the present coin.
Cox Specimen. [PR63BM PCGS]. Brilliant Proof. Col. E.H.R. Green; Burdette G. Johnson; Wayte Raymond; J.G. Macallister; Charles M. Williams (the likely owner); Numismatic Gallery; Adolphe Menjou Collection (Numismatic Gallery, 6/1950), lot 1073, realized $1,650; ANA Sale (Numismatic Gallery, 8/1953), lot 905, per Carl Carlson; R.E. Cox, Jr. (Stack's, 4/1962), lot 1873, realized $9,500; Empire Coin Co. (Q. David Bowers and James Ruddy); Hazen B. Hinman; Century Collection (Paramount, 4/1965), lot 1151; unknown intermediary; Bowers and Ruddy Galleries (Rare Coin Review numbers 17 and 18); Ellis H. Robison (Stack's, 2/1982), lot 1605, realized $70,000; Marvin Browder.
Neil Specimen. [SP64BM PCGS]. PR60 Uncertified. H.O. Granberg, displayed at the 1914 ANS Exhibition; Waldo Newcomer, plate matched to Mehl's Newcomer plates; Col. E.H.R. Green via B. Max Mehl circa 1931; Maurice Ryan Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1945), lot 936; Will W. Neil (B. Max Mehl, 6/1947), lot 580; James Aloysius Stack (Stack's, 3/1975), lot 415, realized $50,000; Julian Leidman; New York City Collection; 1982 ANA Sale (Steve Ivy, 8/1982), lot 2320, realized $37,000; Anthony Terranova; Kevin Lipton; George W. Vogt (Colonial Coins); Auction '84 (RARCOA session, 8/1984), lot 1666, realized $55,000; David Queller Collection (Stack's, 10/2002), lot 446. The enlarged reverse in the Queller Catalog is incorrect and is actually the 1836 Reeded Edge half dollar. This example was the plate coin for Wayte Raymond's Standard Catalog of United States Coins and Currency in the 1930s. [D. Brent Pogue (5/2016)]
Anderson-Dupont Specimen. PR45 PCGS. Col. E.H.R. Green; Anderson-Dupont Collection (Stack's, 11/1954), lot 2104, realized $3,500; Mr. Gottschalk; 1957 ANA Sale (Federal Coin Exchange, 8/1957), lot 1535A, realized $4,450; "TAD" Collection via Stack's; Julian Leidman; Steve Ivy; Manfra, Tordella, and Brookes; 1983 ANA Sale (Kagin's, 8/1983), lot 2494, realized $29,700; Dr. Jasper Robertson Collection (Mid-American, 5/1985), lot 392, realized $32,500; 1986 ANA Sale (Kagin's, 8/1986), lot 4657A, realized $33,000; Ken Goldman; Public Auction Sale (Palm Beach Rare Coin Auctions, 11/1986), lot 318; H.W Blevins (Superior, 6/1988), lot 3567, realized $44,000; Four Landmark Collections (Bowers and Merena, 3/1989), lot 2000, realized $35,200; Pre-ANA Auction (Vintage Auctions, 8/1989), lot 202, realized $40,700; Lowell Yoder; Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/2008), lot 2310, realized $276,000; John Albanese; private collection (7/2012) via Al Pinkall for $325,000. The only surviving specimen actually struck at the New Orleans Mint.
Boyd-Guggenheimer-Empire Specimen. PR40 Uncertified. New Orleans private collection, valued at $40; Ferguson Haines; (S.H. & H. Chapman, 10/1888), lot 483, bought in by the Chapmans, per Carl Carlson; George Bauer; Turner, Hooper and Others Collection (S.H. & H. Chapman, 2/1903), lot 1149 in George Bauer's consignment, purchased by Virgil Brand for $250; Col. E.H.R. Green; Wayte Raymond; F.C.C. Boyd; World's Greatest Collection (Numismatic Gallery, 4/1945), lot 410, realized $1,600; Eastern collector; Stack's; F.S. Guggenheimer Collection (Stack's, 1/1953), lot 830; Charles A. Cass/Empire Collection (Stack's, 11/1957), lot 1344, realized $4,000; New Netherlands Coin Company; Jerome L. Cohen; Public Auction Sale (Kreisberg-Schulman, 4/1967), lot 1065; Mail Bid Sale (Abner Kreisberg, 6/1970), lot 1044; 1971 ANA Sale (Stack's, 8/1971), lot 805; Dr. George J. Oviedo (Stack's, 9/1983), lot 830; George Byers Collection (Stack's, 10/2006), lot 1097.
Specimen number 9 was listed as three separate examples in pedigrees compiled by Breen and Carlson, but the grade of the coin, the timeline of appearances, and the history provided in the catalog descriptions convinces us that all these citations describe the same coin. In the Guggenheimer catalog, the coin is clearly attributed as being the example from the "World's Greatest Collection" but the plates do not match, causing much confusion. The promotional folder for the Empire Collection identifies the coin offered in lot 1344 of that sale as the Guggenheimer specimen, providing a link to the later pedigree. We believe the Guggenheimer plate is a poor-quality stock photo, and the information provided by the catalogers of the Guggenheimer and Empire catalogs is a more accurate guide to the history of this coin.