Of the Half Dollars there are several that have excited the interest of collectors, on account of being overstrikes of previous years. For instance, 1808 over 1807, 1817 over 1813, 1818 over 1817, etc. -- A.M. Smith, Coins and Coinage, 1881.Consistent and bold cartwheel luster encircles both obverse and reverse, each toned a blend of rose, violet, and pastel blue that is both dramatic and subtle. Boldly struck on both sides, with typically soft areas like Libertys throat and the eagles head showing full definition. The overdate is crisp and each star is bold and shows a complete center. The eye appeal is world-class, though a glass reveals some light abrasions on Libertys chin and throat and some shallow slidemarks atop her chest. Further scrutiny will find some light hairlines and some brightness at an abrasion beneath the wing on the left side of the reverse, each a minor consideration and no impediment to this specimens gem status. The dies have clashed at least twice, though lapping or polishing has diminished the clash marks appearance. The obverse shows significant cracks, the boldest of which arcs from the base of the date digits through the first six stars, while other lighter cracks are present from the rim to the base of 1, the bust truncation to star 3, through stars 9 to 13 on the right side of the obverse, and from the rim to below the lowest curl right of the date. The reverse is cracked atop UN of UNITED, TES of STATES, and OF AMERICA.A special survivor of this popular overdate as the only MS-66 seen by either major service. The Overton-Parsley census ranks four MS-65 coins as tied for finest known, but this example has not sold publicly and thus is likely not included in those figures. The eye appeal of this piece handily outpaces the Col. Green - Eric Newman specimen (NGC MS-65), the Kaufman coin (also NGC MS-65), and the Eliasberg coin (NGC MS-64). Another NGC MS-65, sold at Heritage in January 2011 and April 2012, has more recently been certified by PCGS as MS-64+.When Andrew Madsen Smith wrote Coins and Coinage, much numismatic terminology remained imprecise. What he called an "overstrike" would become known as an "overdate" in modern parlance, while the word overstrike refers to a coin produced using an already-struck coin as its planchet. By the early 1880s, overdates had been collected as something special for at least two decades. The year he published his popular guide Coins and Coinage, 1881, also saw the publication of J. Colvin Randalls study on the die varieties of silver dollars, half dollars, and quarter dollars. Randalls pioneering study was the first publication on die varieties of early American silver coins ever printed, though Philadelphia dealer John Haseltine published this work as his Type Table without offering any credit whatsoever to Randall.
