NewP: 19th Century Proof Half to (re)Complete My Type Set

Back in January, I sold my seated liberty half type example to a worthy buyer @Catbert to contribute to his excellent in-progress SLH set. It was an 1854 w/arrows PCGS AU58 CAC with great color, but I knew I eventually wanted to upgrade my type coin to a proof, so I sold it "naked" (without a replacement coin lined up).

Since then, I've had my eyes peeled for a near-gem example with the characteristic originality and toning that I look for in this era of coinage, problem-free, ideally (but not necessarily) w/CAC approval, and in the price range expected for a "type" example. I found I had to be a bit more patient than expected given my criteria.

Fortuitously, our friend @Desert Moon added the perfect example to his inventory that checked all the boxes and more. It was slightly beyond my budget (but fairly priced), and after contemplating it for a bit, I pulled the trigger. The coin arrived in the mail today, and she is a real beauty in-hand! I'll let her speak for herself:







The 1890 proof claims a mintage of 590 coins. This coin is the sole 64+ at PCGS, with 48 higher (excluding CAM and DCAM). There are only 25 coins in PR64+ in the entire Type 5 proof year range (1866-1891), again excluding CAM/DCAM. While CAC does not recognize "+" grades when stickering, I have always been fond of the "+" grade & bean combo.

Adding this coin moved the P0CKETCHANGE Basic Type Set (No Gold) (link corrected thanks to @lermish comment below) ranking from 38 to 28 on the PCGS Registry, as the set is once again 100% complete. I hope to continue upgrading the set to get into the top 20. It also re-completed my Basic Seated Liberty Type Set.

Cheers!