This is an incredible coin, one of the greatest and most important rarities among all of John Jay Pittman’s Proof coins.” — David Akers, 1998</em>Struck to be exceptional, this coin remains exceptional today. The depth of its spectacularly mirrored fields is accentuated by the magnificent regal blue and violet tones covering both sides. The careful pre-striking preparation to make this coin special remains evident. Fine vertical polish lines are seen on both sides, more visible on the reverse than obverse. A substantial batch of lintmarks is seen between star 8 and the base of Liberty’s cap, while another single lintmark rests halfway between star 4 and Liberty’s nose. On the reverse, lintmarks are present close to the eagle’s wing at left, between the beak and A of STATES, and left of the lower serif of D in DOL. The fields host neither noticeable marks nor significant hairlines, a hallmark of thoughtful preservation since the year of mintage. Two individual fine hairlines cross Liberty’s jawline below her cheekbone. Some ancient toning spots, the largest of which is below star 5, are scattered around the obverse.The sharpness of strike far exceeds that seen on even the finest circulation strikes. Star 1 shows some scarcely noticeable softness, as does the upper right curve of D in DOL on the reverse, which finds itself opposite the high relief of Liberty’s cap. All other design elements are superbly rendered from these fresh dies. Some very subtle lapping lines adhere to the obverse periphery, best seen outside of stars 9 and 11. With medallic texture and extraordinary charisma, this stands as one of the most attractive half dollars of this or any other issue. Its rarity is similarly superlative, as the only Proof known from this die marriage and one of only three Proof 1838 half dollars outside of the Smithsonian Institution. The other two in private hands, both graded Proof-64 by PCGS, are the Reed Hawn (1973) coin that was later offered in the August 1999 Bowers and Merena sale and a fairly new discovery, offered by Heritage in September 2013 after being “obtained by a European noble while visiting this country in the middle 19th century and retained by the same family until the present time.” The example offered in the 1962 R.E. Cox sale, thought to be earlier from the 1961 Brand-Lichtenfels sale, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. Cox; it joined another example from the same dies that has been in the Mint Cabinet since the year of its mintage. All Proof 1838 half dollars beside this one are struck from the GR-14 combination.A Proof 1838 half dollar was sold in the December 1890 Thomas Cleneay auction, cataloged by Henry and S. Hudson Chapman, who noted Cleneay’s “forty years of patient selection and liberal expenditure” in their preface to the catalog. Given Cleneay’s penchant for exceptional quality, a taste he had in common with Howard Newcomb, this may well be the Cleneay coin. Though unplated in the Cleneay catalog, its quality can be gleaned by its $36 price. Cleneay’s 1838 Proof half dollar brought more than any other half dollar in the sale aside from a gem 1797; it brought between two and three times the prices of the 1794, 1815, and Proof examples of 1820, 1822, 1823, and 1826. Another choice 1838 half dollar sold just months earlier, described as Proof in the Parmelee sale of June 1890 but probably a gem circulation strike by today’s standards, brought $3.25.Neither of the other privately held 1838 Proof half dollars approach this piece in terms of technical or aesthetic quality, and few early half dollars anywhere can approach this one on the basis of toning, originality, or superb preservation. Among Proof or Specimen examples of the design type, this is the single example ever certified finer than Proof-64+ by PCGS. Even among great rarities, whose numbers are few and whose survivors are well known, there is rarely such clear consensus for the title of finest known. PCGS# 6225.
