“You should carry ten or fifteen dollars with you at a time, in small coin, such as quarter dollars and ten cent pieces. By following this plan you will avoid the necessity of taking local notes and other money, which from its limited currency, is often left upon one’s hands without the possibility of changing it.” — William N. Blane, An Excursion through the United States and Canada During the Years 1822-23 Gold peripheries frame deeply toned olive and blue interiors that cover the obverse and surround the golden gray central reverse. Lustrous and attractive, this is a superb example of this boldly overdated variety. The detail is strong throughout, with full central details present on each star and nicely realized denticles around both sides, a far sharper strike than often seen. Some minor softness is seen in usual places like the curls below Liberty’s ear and the knuckles of the eagle’s talons. The dies have clashed at least twice, with two parallel diagonal lines in the upper left obverse field mirroring the outline of the eagle’s wing and lesser evidence of clashing visible near star 7 and above the reverse arrow shafts. The reverse appears rusty, with fine raised artifacts from rust or die spalling visible around much of the periphery. Aside from some very minor hairlines on Liberty’s portrait and a couple short hairline scratches beneath CA of AMERICA, the surfaces are far better preserved than this grade might indicate. The aesthetic appeal is that of a gem. Two of the three 1823/2 varieties use the same Large Es reverse, but this is the only one that offers collectors a realistic opportunity to acquire a high grade specimen. The other variety, JR-2, is considered a high Rarity-4 or low Rarity-5 by most specialists, and most survivors are in low grades. The data gathered for the Horning census of 2009 presented a surprising finding: though JR-2 is significantly rarer than JR-3, the highly specialized collectors of dime varieties who responded to the Horning survey owned more high grade specimens of JR-2 (three in AU-55 or better) than JR-3 (one 55, none in Mint State). Despite this, the JR-3 variety does appear in the marketplace more often in Mint State grades than the rarer Large Es variety, even if gems are rarely available. This is one of only three pieces to have been graded finer than MS-64 by PCGS. PCGS# 38804. NGC ID: 2372.
