“To preserve a habit of punctuality, and to prevent neglect of the books, it is required, that for every book not returned at the time specified, the person borrowing shall pay for each folio, fifty cents … for each and every week until returned.” — Catalogue of Books in the Library of Brown University, 1826 An especially well detailed gem, this piece marshals full detail from both its obverse and reverse dies, presenting even the most minuscule design elements in full relief from the rims to the centers. The obverse is frosty and lustrous with an even tone of golden gray, while the reverse exhibits pastel blue highlights around design elements that contrast with lighter gray fields and hints of bright violet. A short scratch behind the eagle’s head is the only mark of consequence found after a well-lit examination, along with some shallow and unimportant hairlines. Some raised artifacts on the obverse, mostly in the southeast quadrant, resemble die rust but are likely evidence of spalling, a process of small pieces chipping away from the die face. A die crack runs along the tops of D STATES, while another is subtler atop ERICA, placing this somewhat early in the Overton-118a die state. A library late fee of a half dollar per week was a stiff penalty in 1826. Half dollars were the largest American silver coins used in commerce, dollar coins having long since disappeared from circulation since they were last struck in 1804 (though dated 1803). Eight reales from the former American provinces of Spain, struck under the auspices of both the Spanish monarchy and the independent republics that followed them, filled the need for dollar-sized coins, as did French 5 Francs, among other less commonly seen foreign types. The 1825 Mint assay of foreign coins examined just three circulating large silver coins: Spanish dollars, crowns of France, and 5 Franc pieces. Spanish dollars encompassed all manner of Latin American dollar-sized coins, while crowns of France referred to the ecus of the ancien regime as well as the Revolutionary-era crowns that preceded the introduction of the 5 francs denomination. Brown University’s library assessed lower fees for books smaller than folio, down to 20 cents for diminutive duodecimos, but large and impressive folio volumes were clearly valuable enough to punish their abuse severely. A number of particularly nice examples have survived from these dies, as indicated by Overton’s Condition Census of 66-66-65-65-65, but very few are as choice as this one. The D. Brent Pogue coin is finer than all but one of the PCGS-graded examples of Overton-118 or Overton-118a listed by Stephen Herrman. Described as a “beautiful, strictly original gem Bust half dollar” in the catalog of Auction ’87, this specimen’s grade and positive attributes should earn it a place in the Condition Census of this variety. PCGS# 39692. NGC ID: 24FM.
