A little below, we saw three hunters with several dogs; they had just killed a fine young deer in the river, and were skinning it on the bank. We bought a hindquarter, it weighed fifteen or sixteen pounds, for 50 cents. -- John Woods, Two Years Residence on the English Prairie in the Illinois County, United States, 1822.The brightest of blues is made brighter at the rims as the lustrous cartwheel passes it, corralling deep golden centers that turn orange and violet before the azure frame. A coin of exquisite aesthetic appeal, richly lustrous and colored no less beautifully than a tropical bird. The detail is complete on both sides, with full star centers and each fine interstice of the devices well realized. The surfaces are fascinating, as both obverse and reverse show fine raised texture indicative of a rusted die face. Die rust is typically a misnomer, a misunderstanding of spalling, which involves a steel surface chipping, not oxidizing, but the dies used to strike this coin appear to show actual rust. Die rust as here is very unusual, making this an especially fascinating coin to study. A vertical planchet striation was not completely struck out at central obverse, visible right of the corner of Libertys eye and descending to her cheek. A similar artifact is noted on her shoulder curl. The surfaces are free of significant post-striking defects, with just a short hairline visible on the bust. The reverse die is cracked in a broad arc from above TES of STATES, through OF AMERICA and past the arrowheads, before intersecting with the stop after C and stopping at the C itself.Extraordinary in both its aesthetic and technical excellence, this piece is ranked atop the Overton-Parsley census for the variety. Precious few 1822 half dollars of any variety have survived in such a remarkable state of preservation, and fewer still exhibit this kind of visual presence. The only other PCGS MS-66 is the prooflike Eliasberg Overton-114. The only auction record of a PCGS MS-67 comes from RARCOAs session of Auction 90; it is possible that the three entries for MS-67 on the Population Report all represent that coin, as we are unable to confirm the existence of another. The appearance of this coin and the 1822 Overton-101 two lots previous represent just the third and fourth recorded auction appearances of any PCGS-certified 1822 half dollar in a grade higher than MS-65.
