“The inclosed printed notice from the Proctor of our university will answer most of the enquiries of your letter of the 2d instant ... of pocket money, from a half dollar to a dollar a week is an ample allowance.” Thomas Jefferson to Ambrose Baker, on enrolling at the University of Virginia, November 17, 1825 Another prize from the Eliasberg and Pogue collections, the toning on this half dollar echoes that found on other coins that combine those famous provenances. Gold and faded peach highlights stand out from deep opalescent gray surfaces, while brighter notes of amber, gold, and green hide within the intricacies of the reverse legend. Frosty and rich with cartwheel, the aged originality of this piece does nothing to diminish the splendid luster. The detail is excellent, though the first five stars lack full centers. Liberty’s profile is doubled from the forecurl to the top of the bust. Defects are few and minor, with just some dark specks near the top of Liberty’s cap and a few light contact points atop the wing at left. This die state presents no die cracks or other die flaws. Half dollars were struck consistently throughout 1825. The first delivery of half dollars from the coiner to the Mint’s treasurer took place on January 8. Three more deliveries followed that month, and additional half dollars were coined every month of the year. The final delivery was recorded on December 31, representing the last of nearly three million half dollars struck in this calendar year. The Mint only struck other silver denominations in the second half of the year, coining dimes from August through November and quarter dollars as an apparent afterthought in December alone. In 1826, no silver denomination aside from half dollars was struck at all. 1825 was a turning point in American history, representing the year the Virginia Dynasty of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe yielded to the administration of John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, himself a numismatist. James Monroe left office on March 4, 1825. Just three days later, on the site of his former farm in Charlottesville, the University of Virginia held its first classes. Monroe served on the Board of Visitors of the University, first under Thomas Jefferson, the founder and first Rector of the University, then under James Madison, who followed Jefferson as the second Rector. Jefferson continued to play an active role in the leadership of the University until his death on July 4, 1826, even answering correspondence about prospective enrollment. In Jefferson’s estimation, this half dollar would have served as adequate weekly pocket money for a young scholar moving to Charlottesville from out of state. Amidst all the stellar coins that have come to market in the last decade and a half, not one has jarred this coin from its position atop Stephen Herrman’s list of the finest 1825 O-105s to sell at auction. The second best piece, offered in the January 2005 American Numismatic Rarities Kennywood Collection sale and Heritage sales in 2005, 2014, and 2015, is graded MS-65 by PCGS but does not approach this one on the basis of aesthetic appeal or technical grade. Herrman’s suggestion that this coin is the “Finest?” could stand just as easily without its interrogative punctuation. The only 1825 half dollar to receive a higher grade from PCGS is the MS-66+ Overton-104 in the Dr. Charles Link Collection. PCGS# 39651. NGC ID: 24FL.
