Feather in cap, due to break in die. -- Henry Chapman.Fully struck and lightly reflective, this specimen offers a wealth of fine details not entirely unlike that found on a Proof striking. Swirls of cartwheel luster are present on both sides, more satiny and bold on the reverse, where the field shows less reflective character than the obverse. The obverse appeals faintly golden over brilliant surfaces, though scrutiny finds hints of blue inside the rim and deeper gold tones at the right periphery. The reverse is more deeply toned, showing similar rich gold over most of the surface with hints of violet and blue. Details are strongly impressed on both sides, with each star but star 8 showing its center in high relief and all fine elements of the central devices fully present. The obverse shows some light spotting around Libertys lower jaw and in the right field between the device and stars 11 and 12. Well-lit examination reveals obverse hairlines, though the reverse is entirely free of them. No major contact marks are seen on either side. The dies are heavily clashed, with the elements of the reverse shield impressed beneath Libertys ear and outlines of the major devices present in the obverse field. On the reverse, the impression of the obverse device can be seen above and below the eagle. A heavy vertical die crack descends from the front of Libertys headband through her eye, and the injury that gives this variety its "Comet" moniker is easily seen behind Libertys cap to the denticles above star 8. A die crack delicately connects the D of UNITED to the first S of STATES, but the reverse has not yet been lapped, placing this die state before Overtons 106a.A superb example of this easily distinguished naked-eye variety, perhaps ranking as the finest survivor from these dies. There are just three 1817 half dollars to which PCGS has assigned the MS-66 grade: this coin, another Overton-106 (ex Superior Galleries, May 1991 and May 2006), and the D. Brent Pogue 1817 Overton-113 offered in this sale. The only 1817 half dollar graded finer by PCGS, a single MS-67, appears in the next lot. In-hand comparison of this piece and the Superior May 1991 coin would be required to decide which coin was finer, and ten seasoned numismatists could be divided evenly on the question. Other high quality specimens, like the Col. E.H.R. Green-Newman coin that sold in 2013 and the Reed Hawn (1973)-Auction 87 specimen that was last seen in the September 2007 Heritage sale, are graded slightly lower but would also be in consideration for inclusion in the Condition Census.Any coin with a provenance to the George H. Earle Jr. Collection is an item of great desirability. Realizing over $55,000 in total bids, a record at the time, the 1912 Earle sale was among the capstones of Henry Chapmans half-century career as one of Americas leading numismatists. In a 1918 advertisement, he identified the Earle sale, along with the 1907 Matthew A. Stickney sale, as "the two greatest sales ever made in the U.S." Earle, a Philadelphia lawyer whose son became governor of Pennsylvania, became legendary as a corporate turnaround specialist; he was talked about as being named secretary of Commerce by President Taft. Coins were a lifelong passion, as a profile of Earle in a 1910 issue of Munseys Magazine pointed out: "He took up coin-collecting as a boy, and to-day has one of the finest collections in the world, but all the time he was in college he cleared up enough to pay his expenses by buying and selling rare specimens." At the time the sale of Earles coins was inspiring newspaper headlines from coast to coast, his name was also appearing in election-year editorials revolving around Earles damning Congressional testimony in the anti-trust investigation of a sugar monopoly. As his business empire placed greater and greater demands on his time, his collection fell by the wayside.Earles professional career was not entirely unlike Louis Eliasbergs. Though there is no evidence the two men ever knew each other, Mr. Eliasberg must have felt a kinship with Mr. Earle through the coins they both owned. Such is the power of provenance. The Munseys profile noted above wrote that Earle "had a good deal of pedigree." The same can be said of the coins he left behind.
