1815/2 Capped Bust Half Dollar. O-101a. Rarity-2. Die State 101.2. MS-63 (PCGS). Exceptional Choice Mint State quality for this legendary key date in the popular Capped Bust half dollar series. Lustrous and frosty, both sides are lightly toned in iridescent champagne-pink and pale gold. The strike is outstanding for the type, ideally centered on both sides with full, razor sharp definition from the borders to the centers. There are no troublesome marks, leaving it to a few light planchet drift marks (as made) through the central obverse and within the eagles right wing to serve as provenance markers. The eye appeal is strong, and the technical quality is virtually unimprovable for an 1815/2 half dollar.<p>Beginning in the first decade of the 19th century and continuing through the 1840s, the half dollar was the most popular denomination with contemporary bullion depositors. Yet even so, the Mint was caught unprepared by the renewed demand for these coins after the War of 1812 ended in February of 1815, and there were no 1815-dated dies on hand. To allow coinage to resume as soon as possible, Mint employees retrieved an unused 1812-dated die, punched a 5 over the 2, and used this obverse to strike approximately 47,150 1815/2 half dollars. The entire mintage was delivered on January 10, 1816 to the Bank of the United States in Philadelphia. The next day, a fire at the Mint destroyed its rolling and milling machinery, and no more silver coinage was issued until 1817.<p>Overton-101 is the only known die marriage of this issue, although it comes in early and late states, the latter identifiable by peripheral die cracks on the reverse. While enough examples of both the O-101 and O-101a die states have survived to make both varieties readily obtainable, the lack of any other die marriages means that the 1815/2 is scarce compared to all other dates in the Capped Bust half dollar series. Mint State examples are of the utmost rarity, the offered coin tied for CC#3 for the O-101a die state per the listing in the Autumn 2023 revision to Stephen J. Herrmans AMBPR for Bust half dollars.<p>A newcomer to the modern U.S. numismatic market, this coin was mentioned in an article in the September 4, 2021 issue of <em>Coin World</em> that described a large collection of U.S. and world coins that had been stored in tobacco tins and secured in a canvas bag for decades under the staircase of a British home. The collection was inherited by Darren Edmonds of Birmingham, England, who related in the article that these coins, including this 1815/2 half dollar, were part of a longtime family collection:<p><em>... (It was) part of my fathers collection. Some were his fathers, so they have been in my family for more than 80 years. I doubt he knew its real value.</em><p>Edmunds father was a toolmaker for many years at the Austin Motor Car Company, where he often bought, sold, and traded coins with his fellow workers. After being certified MS-63 by PCGS, this coin made its debut in the U.S. market as lot 3512 in Heritages October 2021 Long Beach Signature Auction. PCGS# 39492. NGC ID: 24F5. PCGS Population (both die state of the issue): 4; 7 finer (MS-66 finest). Ex Darren Edmonds, Birmingham, England, inherited ca. 2021 as part of his fathers large collection of U.S. and world coins; Heritages Long Beach Signature Auction of October 2021, lot 3512; Heritages Signature Auction of August 2022, lot 3935.
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