TWO SHARPS – On Saturday, an old man picked up a half a dollar in the park. ‘Old man, that’s mine,’ said a keen looking rascal, ‘so hand it over.’ ‘Did yours have a hole in it?’ asked the finder. ‘Yes it had,’ said the other smartly. ‘Then it isn’t thine,’ mildly replied the old man, ‘thee must learn to be a little sharper next time.’” — New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 25, 1837</em>Pristine fields host extraordinary cartwheel luster, with fine color and profound frost coalescing into an ideal aesthetic appearance. The obverse appears pale olive ringed with rose in one light, golden with hints of pale and navy blue in another. The reverse tones are even richer, deep blue-green with olive and gold at the center, rose and gold at the periphery. The fields are free of any marks of consequence, though a scattering of minor marks and lines is seen on Liberty’s chin and neck. Central devices are boldly realized, as are most peripheral elements, though scrutiny will find exceptions like the centers of stars 3 and 4. Among the reverse legend, the letters are better struck on whichever half, top or bottom, is closest to the coin’s center. Much of this softness has to do with the remarkable die cracks that ring that side, one of which begins at the base of N in CENTS and proceeds clockwise through the midpoints of 50 CE and along the bases of UNITED ST. At A of STATES, that arc crack joins with another, that begins atop the first T of STATES, through the midsections of ATES, then through the bases of OF AMER and the midsections of IC before intersecting the top of the adjacent A. Another crack begins within the top of that final A of AMERICA and crosses the arrowheads before ending in the lower reverse field above EN of CENTS.The obverse is also cracked, in a broad arc from the rim above star 4, through lower points of star 5 and 6, across the cap and two points of star 8 to the rim beyond star 9. A lighter crack crosses Liberty’s drapery from the rim beyond star 1 to the field above the date. Beistle described these cracks on his variety 3b-E. A solid clash mark from an eagle’s wing is seen in front of Liberty’s portrait, and other evidence of clashing is seen close to the back of Liberty’s head and neck, and below both wings on the reverse.The 1837 half dollar issue joins specialized numismatic interest and broad historical importance. Only the rare 1836 and the more widely available 1837 half dollars combine Christian Gobrecht’s Capped Bust obverse with a reverse that describes the denomination as 50 CENTS. Half dollars of 1838 and 1839, while looking quite similar, are denominated as HALF DOL., making the 1836 and 1837 halves a distinct design type. This half dollar issue was the first struck to the specifications of the sprawling 38-section Mint Act of 1837, passed by Congress on January 18, which specified that all silver coins struck thereafter would be coined to the simple .900 fine standard. That provision remained in effect until 1965. The law also further defined the annual assay of United States coins. The assay of 1837 coinage took place on February 12, 1838, testing 348 half dollars, representing between 10 and 66 coins from each delivery of the denomination made between February 22 and December 30, 1837.This coin offers superlative color and surface to accompany its status as one of the finest seen by PCGS. Just three examples of the entire 1836 to 1839 design type have ever received an MS-67 from PCGS, two dated 1837 and a single 1839-O. Two of the three, this coin and the Knoxville-Jung-Pogue 1839-O, are offered in the present auction. The other, the Knoxville-Jung 1837 half dollar, last sold publicly in 2004.PCGS# 6176. NGC ID: 24G4.
