“At this moment the little darling entered singing, and it tickled them amazingly as the tipsy young gambler scattered over the carpet a number of half dollars, which he protested he had won that hour of the beautiful Mademoiselle Clara St. Clare.” — John Lofland, “The Silver Sixpence, or, The Road to Ruin,” Atkinson’s Casket, January 1832 Magnificent cartwheel luster uplifts this deeply toned half dollar. Aquamarine blends with pale gold and deep gray in chaotically beautiful fashion, covering supremely frosty surfaces and outlining the devices. Hints of violet nestle into the low-lying fields of the reverse. The slightly modified bust, new in 1832 and used through 1834, shows its rounded detail well, though the highest points of the relief among Liberty’s curls are not fully struck. The fields are pristine, with no significant marks found, just a thin hairline extending toward the bust from the inside of star 1. These dies have clashed, with some light vestiges seen close to Liberty’s portrait and an area of frost in front of her profile replacing the impression that once filled that space. On the reverse, clash marks are still present beneath the wing at left, between the top of that wing and the beak, and under UNU of UNUM. A tiny die flaw on Liberty’s drapery, hidden beneath the clasp above the top of the 1, is still present on this high grade specimen. Several modifications of the basic Capped Bust of Liberty portrait took place over the life of this design type. Edgar Souders lists the portrait hub that was introduced this year as “Sub-Design Type #8.” The difference is subtle, but most collectors could pick a half dollar dated 1832 out of a group of halves dated 1808, 1817, or 1824 if the dates were all obscured. Overton noted that the “relief of the bust was substantially raised, hair curls were finer and thinner, but coarsening gradually in 1833 and 1834.” The reverses were also modified, all now using the Small Letters typeface but for the reverse of Overton-101, which was likely made earlier but first employed in 1832. This phenomenon is not unusual: two reverses used in 1831 can also be seen on 1830 half dollars, and 1830 half dollars can be found using two different reverses from 1829 and a reverse last used in 1828. Since 1946, only two collectors have owned this coin, John Jay Pittman and D. Brent Pogue. Pittman acquired it from Wayte Raymond, one of the preeminent dealers of the first half of the 20th century. Perhaps best known today as the numismatic mentor of John J. Ford, Jr., Raymond revolutionized the American coin hobby with his publication of the Standard Catalogue of United States Coins, a one volume must-have reference that preceded the Guide Book of United States Coins. Raymond founded the United States Coin Company in 1912, auctioning august collections like those of H.O. Granberg and Malcolm Jackson. His best known effort came after the U.S. Coin Company closed its doors, though. The W.W.C. Wilson Collection was so vast and so full of rare obscurata that it was spread over four sales between 1925 and 1928. It remains a standard reference for early American medals, Canadiana, and American rarities. Twenty years later, when Raymond sold this coin to Pittman for $2, he was on the downswing of his career. He retired from the auction business in 1950 and passed away in 1956. Among all Capped Bust half dollars dating from 1807 through 1836 that have been submitted to PCGS, the MS-67 grade has been assigned just 21 times. Duplication is likely among those listings and among the small group to have been graded finer, including three MS-67+ grades and two at MS-68. Half dollars dated 1832 have crossed the threshold of PCGS over 3,000 times in the last 30 years. Among all those, none have surpassed this coin. This is the only 1832 half dollar to be graded MS-67 by PCGS, registering it as the single finest example of the date they have certified and the ultimate selection for a connoisseur’s date set of these popular coins. PCGS# 39860. NGC ID: 24FW.
