Is the specie sunk and gone? It has never been so plenty in this city; but mistrust has locked it up, people will not part with a single half a dollar, even for necessary expenses, until they try all ways and means to pass their five dollar notes.” — The Evening Post, New York City, May 16, 1837</em>Superb deep gray obverse toning includes rich olive and subtle golden amber highlights, the latter of which become brighter at the peripheries as the bold cartwheel luster circles by. The reverse is lighter, an overall shade of pleasing gold with glimpses of bright blue near some areas of the periphery. With its attractive color, thorough luster, and fine surface frost, this piece offers the look of much-desired originality while maintaining excellent aesthetic appeal. An old dig close to Liberty’s hair, parallel to star 11, is the only significant contact mark. A few light lines appear on Liberty’s cheek when closely examined. The reverse is nearly immaculate, and very few hairlines appear on the fields of either side. The strike is sound, very bold at centers while yielding a bit on some peripheral elements, including star 7, the arrowheads, and the tops of the letters in CENTS. The quality of this piece, accounting for color, surface, strike, and technical preservation, is as nice as could be hoped for at this grade level.Both sides show a fascinating array of die cracks. The obverse die is cracked in a broad arc from star 10, across RT of LIBERTY, over Liberty’s cheek and chin to the bust truncation. Another crack meets it there, extending from the rim beyond the tip of the bust, across the drapery, and along the base of the portrait punch. The reverse is cracked from the rim above TE of STATES, through ES OF AM and down to the wing below E of AMERICA. Another fine crack connects the tops of ST of STATES. Traces of a die clash, clearly somewhat repaired and now quite subtle, are seen on a diagonal from 0 of 50 to the arrow feathers and in a few lumps beneath the wingpit at left. Light traces of impressions of the shield pales from the reverse are seen under Liberty’s ear on the obverse.This coin, and other high grade 1837 halves, may owe their extraordinary preservation to the Panic of 1837, which settled over the United States after New York City banks suspended specie payments on May 10, 1837. Bank customers could no longer exchange paper at par for specie, leaving paper money and copper coinage to carry the work of day-to-day business in most areas of the country. Millions of half dollars, along with Spanish 8 reales and smaller subsidiary denominations, sat in bank vaults, despite the 1837 establishment of a bullion fund by Act of Congress that allowed the U.S. Mint to produce silver coins without waiting for deposits of bullion. By the time the panic subsided, thus allowing silver coins to reenter circulation, few gems were left among the bank stockpiles. Today, 93% of Mint State 1837 halves certified by PCGS grade MS-64 or lower.A stellar gem with much to recommend it, this coin ranks among the finest 1837 half dollars known. Graham lists 25 different varieties of 1837 halves and rates this die marriage as a Rarity-3, noting that it is “overall not a terribly scarce variety” but pointing out that “it becomes so in grades above XF.” The obverse die saw its third use in this combination; it would be placed into service one additional time in the GR-5 variety. This example is the plate coin in the Graham book and tops his Condition Census of 66-65-61-50-45-45-40.PCGS# 6176. NGC ID: 24G4.
