“A fish paying Tribute money – one of the men on board the schooner Blank, Captain Hopkins, which arrived at Truro on Sunday last, drew up a fish, while at the banks, having in its maw six half dollars. We do not recollect of hearing of a parallel case since the miracle of finding in the mouth of a fish a piece of money to pay tribute to Caesar.” — Norwalk Reporter and Huron Advertiser, Norwalk, Ohio, August 1, 1829 Distinctively and beautifully toned, the obverse of this gem displays a halo of rose gold around the rims, supporting crescents of rich violet and blue, colors that have nestled into design intricacies in attractive fashion. The reverse is a more sedate blend of gold and pale blue with hints of intermingling violet. Bold luster encircles finely detailed devices, though most stars lack their centers and the weakness on PL of PLURIBUS and ST of STATES above it is present, as often seen. Some minor hairlines are present on the portrait and the left obverse field, including a line that runs from star 3 to the bust. Contact marks are few and minor, including a couple of pinpoints on the shield and a short scratch under C of AMERICA. Some white encrustation is barely visible within 82 of the date, and a little spot rests harmlessly near the obverse center point. The dies are uncracked and unclashed, though a sometimes present lump, manifesting from an errant graver stroke in the die, is seen left of the date. The story of a fisherman pulling up his line to find not only a fish but also $3 in silver half dollars spread quickly in 1829. It first appears in August 1829 and was perhaps originally published in the Barnstable Gazette, printed in the largest town on Cape Cod. Truro, near the tip of Cape Cod, was then a port village that launched voyages to the Grand Banks, a particularly fertile fishing area off Newfoundland. While the editor of the Norwalk Reporter and Huron Advertiser had never heard a story of a coin being found in a fish’s mouth anywhere but the New Testament, most fishermen have a favorite story of an odd object found in a fish’s stomach. Rarely are the items worth keeping. Among the finest survivors from this die pair, this piece comes from the same old-time collection that yielded the D. Brent Pogue 1802 half dollar. That coin was acquired about 1975, at or after the Stack’s sale of the James A. Stack quarters and half dollars, and this piece was likely off the market for a similar interval. The finest PCGS-graded example from these dies cited by Herrman was a PCGS MS-64, topped in Auction & Mail Bid Prices Realized for Bust Half Dollars by the uncertified Queller coin and an NGC MS-65 last sold by the Goldbergs in May 2011. This example is clearly of Condition Census quality and may even garner top position after direct comparison with other claimants to Finest Known honors. PCGS# 39781. NGC ID: 24FS.
