Comparing this years coinage of the precious metals with that of the ten preceding years ... the amount struck is nearly double the average annual amount during that period, and the number of pieces (the most accurate measure of the quantity of labor) considerably more than quadruple. -- Robert Patterson, Report of the Director of the Mint, January 1, 1807.A magnificent gem, a coin that could be described as "nearly perfect"with no further comment. Its color is deep and rich, closer to orange than yellow, but highlighted with translucent sea green and pale yellow tones around the obverse devices and haloed with deeper copper tones around the peripheral elements of the reverse. Well struck from centers to rims, with profound detail everywhere but those small regions where the die state disallows it. While some hairlines and inconsequential marks are present, they are shallow and especially trivial, allowing the lustrous character of the fields and the fine detail of the devices to sparkle. Not one is significant enough to memorialize in type. A distinctive lintmark near stars 7 and 8 is shaped like an upside down and backward question mark. Another lintmark, albeit with less personality, is seen in the obverse field between Libertys chin and star 11. Some gentle and unobtrusive adjustment marks are seen at the central obverse and in the hair above Libertys ear, and a little planchet chip is noted left of the base of O in OF. A wire rim is present around the southwest quadrant of the obverse and the northeast quadrant of the reverse.Very light die cracks encircle the obverse, connecting stars 1 through 8 before trailing off prior to reaching L of LIBERTY. Another connects stars 9 through 13. Several wispy die cracks connect the date digits at their bases and midpoints, one of which links to the peripheral crack at left. These are microscopically fine and heavily interconnected. The reverse is also cracked, heavily but not terminally, heaviest from the rim to the base of the second S in STATES, a crack that continues with a V-shaped formation in the cloud below, then traipses through stars 4 and 9, the eagles upper and lower beak, B in PLURIBUS, and the upper left corner of the shield. Directly below B in PLURIBUS, a nearly horizontal crack splits off and crosses the eagles chest, top peak of the shield, wingpit at right, and ends at the lower right serif of M in AMERICA. Another horizontal crack crosses E of UNITED to the now soft sunken area of the wingpit at left; a final fine die crack begins in the same area but peters out before reaching the arrowheads. The reverse is seriously clashed, most apparent in the bottom half of that side.Perhaps overshadowed by the single extremely prolific die marriage of the Round Top 6 type, the Pointed 6 half eagles of 1806 are actually fairly scarce. There are five different Pointed 6 varieties, four of them rated Rarity-5+ or higher and two of them rated fully Rarity-7. Mint Director Robert Patterson was rightly proud of his facilitys output in 1806, including more than 64,000 half eagles of this date. The vast majority of those half eagles, perhaps as many as 50,000 of them according to John Dannreuther, were of the Round Top 6 variety. Bearing the same date, the Pointed 6 half eagles are accorded relatively little respect, even though the PCGS Population Report reflects seven times more Round Top 6 specimens having been certified, encompassing all grades.Only four Pointed 6 half eagles have been graded MS-64 or finer by PCGS, less than one-tenth as many as the same tally for 1806 Round Top 6 (41 submissions). This is the sole MS-65 coin of the Pointed 6 type graded by PCGS in their nearly 30-year history.
