Thus if the emigrant expected to purchase at half a dollar an acre, he will find, when he examines the lot, that it is far from any town, roads, or settlements. -- William Savage, Observations on Emigration to the United States of America, 1819..A frosty object of wonder, with brilliant, lustrous surfaces and eye appeal that easily surpasses the assigned numerical grade. The obverse has assumed a light and attractive golden tone, with hints of dark amber at right that yields to bright cobalt blue outside of star 10. The reverse is chiefly brilliant silver, gathering some gold at its rims, deepest at the denticles. The visual impact is that of a full-fledged gem, its cartwheel bold and untrammeled. Some light hairlines are present on the obverse, though no marks require mention aside from a shallow abrasion in the field beneath stars 5 and 6. While stars 1 and 2 lack their centers, all other design elements are fully detailed and satisfyingly complete. The reverse die is cracked from the rim along the right side of the upright of the first T in STATES, descending through U of PLURIBUS to the field in front of the eagles beak. An arc crack barely touches the tip of the second arrowhead before connecting the tops of ICA, and another, subtler crack joins the bases of 50 in the denomination.Acquired in our New York Connoisseurs Collection sale, this coin was one of just 61 pieces gathered by an anonymous New York City collector in a period from the mid 1960s to the late 1980s. Fanatical about quality and willing to pay a premium for the best, the New York Connoisseur acquired pieces from famous sales including Garrett, Eliasberg, and Amon Carter, along with several other high profile auctions held by New Netherlands Coin Company, Stacks, Bowers and Ruddy, and others, primarily in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ranging from a single colonial coin (the Garrett 1788 Massachusetts half cent) to 20th century gold, all but one coin in the collection was Mint State, and most were gems. His prescient taste for quality echoed the approach of D. Brent Pogue, who likewise has insisted upon the best. This piece still tops the Herrman listing of best specimens sold from these dies.1819 marked a vital year in the history of American expansion, highlighted by the acquisitions of the Adams-Onis Treaty between Spain and the United States. By achieving full control of Florida and the modern Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard was united and consolidated under American control. The treaty also defined the border between the area then called the Missouri Territory (including most of the lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase) and New Spain, including the Sabine and Red Rivers at the modern borders of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. A month after the signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty in February 1819, the Territory of Arkansaw was split from the Missouri Territory. Missouri entered the union as the 24th state in 1821, the sixth new state in less than five years. Amidst this rapid expansion, the first federal immigration laws were codified in 1819, and migration from Eastern cities began in earnest. A half dollar like this one could buy an acre of land in the new territories, but no longer would it purchase a prime spot near navigable waterways and established settlements. The trans-Appalachian West was beginning to get crowded.
