A cool perspiration always dampens ones hands when the King of half-dollars first spills from its envelope. -- Sheridan Downey.A non-specialist will look at this coin and see the most worn coin in the entire D. Brent Pogue Collection, an attractive Very Fine in a cabinet full of superlative Mint State specimens.
A specialist in this series will see the pinnacle of Capped Bust half dollar collecting, a choice specimen of the greatest and most famous rarity in the series. Considered second finest known behind the discovery specimen, later in the Eliasberg Collection, this is the finest known of the early uncracked die state, Overton-102 rather than Overton-102a.The surfaces are even and attractive dark pewter gray, smooth and glossy, offering a pleasant and natural contrast with the lighter silver gray of the design elements.
The obverse is centered to 7:00, with the longest denticles visible behind Libertys cap and none evident at the tip of the bust. The reverse is centered just left of 12:00, with nice prominent denticles framing the base of that side. The devices are evenly worn, the fields are unmarred by significant marks, and the aesthetic appeal is as close to perfect as could be conceived for a coin of this grade level. Some light lines are seen under a glass, and some harmless surface encrustation among the reverse letters does little more than offer an assurance of originality. A linear planchet fissure subtly runs from the lowest two points of star 7 across the tops of LIB and through the cap before ending at star 9. The overdate aspect is extremely bold, evident to the naked eye and easily discerned as a partially effaced 4 to all viewers, regardless of their level of sophistication.
A single tiny mark is seen on the rim atop the reverse above the left side of the second S of STATES.Among all the die varieties of Capped Bust half dollars, there are only three rarer than 1817/4 Overton-102: 1825 Overton-118, 1827 Overton-149, and 1829 Overton-120. None of these is imbued with a mystique that transcends the world of the self-identified "Bust Half Nuts," and none is a distinctive overdate variety that is readily identifiable to the unacquainted. Just 11 specimens have been identified. The first was discovered in 1930, when little known dealer Edward T. Wallis, doing business in Los Angeles as the California Stamp Company, announced on the back cover of his November 14, 1930, auction "We just discovered an 1817 over 14 half dollar." Adding that the coin was "Extremely Fine, showing practically no wear," he noted "there is a die break clear across the obverse" that meant "in all probability the die broke in half when this coin was struck, which would explain the reason for this coin being heretofore unknown." Howard Rounds Newcomb, best known today as a large cent specialist but also a devotee of early silver, lived nearby and confirmed the discovery, as did Martin Luther Beistle, then the nations expert on Capped Bust half dollar varieties.Wallis died in 1951.
Al Overton purchased the discovery coin the next year, though he identified the source of the coin as the "Pratt Collection" and apparently never knew Wallis. Overton sold the discovery coin to Louis Eliasberg in 1953. Just under a decade later, in 1962, Overton purchased the present specimen from a dealer in Oakland, California and sold it to Empire Coin Company, the partnership of Q. David Bowers and James F. Ruddy. When this coin first appeared at auction in 1965, it was just the second example to appear in the public venue. Since that time, the feverish pursuit of this variety by specialists and non-specialists alike has yielded just nine additional examples from these dies, nearly all in low grades. Wallis contention that the heavy die break was "the reason for this coin being heretofore unknown"holds water, and undoubtedly only a small number were struck before this distinctive obverse succumbed.The 11 known specimens of the 1817/4 half dollar are neatly divided into two groups: Overton-102 (early die state without bisecting obverse crack, five known) and Overton-102a (late die state with bisecting obverse crack, six known).
The D. Brent Pogue specimen is the finest surviving specimen of the first group, with the other four all well-worn, damaged, or both. Among the 11 total 1817/4 half dollars known, seven have been graded by PCGS. A list of the known specimens follows..<strong>Overton-102:</strong>1. The present coin. PCGS VF-35.2. The Elton Dosier coin, discovered in 1976, sold by Sheridan Downey in 1998, 2001, and 2004. PCGS F-15.3. The 2014 ANA sale coin. Tooled around the date. PCGS VF Details, Tooled.4. The Colorado coin. Discovered in Colorado in 2007, sold in the 2008 ANA sale. Scratched on obverse. PCGS Good-6.5. The Overton-Parsley coin. Discovered about 1963, sold as part of the Overton Collection in 1993. Repaired impact mark on reverse, details of Good..
Overton-102a:1. The Eliasberg coin. The discovery piece for the variety, extensively pedigreed. PCGS AU-53.2. The George Williams coin. Found in fill dirt in upstate New York. NGC XF Details, Environmental Damage.3. The Floyd Farley coin. Discovered ca. 1967, sold by Sheridan Downey in 2002. NGC VF-25.4. The Al Burke coin. Purchased in 1965, correctly attributed about 1973, displayed at coin club meetings by the avuncular Burke, a Philadelphia schoolteacher, for years thereafter. Sold to Don Parsley by Sheridan Downey in 1997, sold by Downey again in 2005. PCGS VF-20.5. The Stewart Witham coin. Sold at auction by Heritage in August 2010. PCGS VF-20.6. The Louisiana coin. Announced in the numismatic press in July 2012. PCGS VG-8.Not every coin with personality is rare, and not every rare coin has personality. The most important American coins combine mystique with scarcity, usually in distinctive and eye-catching fashion. The 1817/4 half dollar sits at the pinnacle of one of the most popular specialties in American numismatics. Collectors have yearned to own even the lowest grade specimens, and theyve paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for specimens that would blend in to many dealers junk boxes if unidentified. This specimen offers an unmatched level of grade and eye appeal for the unbroken early die state and is surpassed by just a single example from these famous dies. Last sold at auction a half century ago, no other Capped Bust half dollar in the D. Brent Pogue Collection glows with such an aura of desirability.
