1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Drapery. Proof-64 (NGC). A world-class numismatic rarity from the popular and widely collected Liberty Seated half dollar series. This is the only confirmed Proof striking of the 1839 With Drapery issue, which replaced the No Drapery design of earlier that year. While we can account for six Proofs of the 1839 No Drapery - obviously an exceedingly rare issue in its own right - the offered specimen is, again, unique as a Proof striking of the 1839 With Drapery. It was reported, although classified as "Unverified", in the 1989 edition of <em>Walter Breens Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins</em>. The 1992 Wiley-Bugert reference on this series missed this coin altogether, the authors concluding that the Proof 1839 With Drapery is "Unknown" - easily forgiven since David Akers did not bring the extraordinary Pittman Collection to auction until 1997-1998. The only other rumored Proof, the Norweb coin, turned out to be a prooflike circulation strike.
This is a virtually untoned coin, the closest scrutiny required to discern the lightest suggestions of champagne-pink iridescence at the borders. The fields are universally brilliant, the central motifs lightly frosted and providing subtle cameo contrast as the coin rotates under a light. Otherwise fully struck, a touch of softness to star 7 is mentioned solely for accuracy. A few faint hairlines account for the Proof-64 grade from NGC, while a short, nearly vertical mark above Libertys right wrist serves as the most useful identifier should this coin ever become separated from its provenance. A highly significant specimen that is just right for inclusion in a leading collection of early U.S. Mint Proof coinage or an advanced Liberty Seated half dollar set. PCGS# 6383. NGC ID: 24LD. From the Arlington Collection. Earlier ex Thomas L. Elders Henry C. Miller sale, April 1917, lot 523; Virgil Brand, Brand journal #82708; consigned by Armin Brand to Burdette G. Johnson, May 27, 1936; later, Kreisberg-Schulmans sale of the Gustav Lichtenfels Collection, February 1961, lot 2799; John Jay Pittman; David W. Akers sale of the John Jay Pittman Collection, Part II, May 1998, lot 1517; Phil Kaufman; Heritages sale of the Phil Kaufman Collection, Part III, April 2008 CSNS Signature Auction, lot 2377; Heritages sale of the Greensboro Collection, Part II, January 2013 FUN Signature Auction, lot 5654; Heritages sale of the Eugene H. Gardner Collection, Part II, October 2014 Signature Auction, lot 98525.
