This sharply struck medium gold example offers superior eye appeal relative to the stated qualifier. The surfaces are somewhat bright with wispy hairlines, but much of the original satin finish persists, especially on the reverse. As well, we see no sizeable or otherwise singularly mentionable handling marks on either side. A relatively pleasing example of this elusive issue in the challenging Capped Head Left half eagle series.The half eagles of the 1820s are some of the scarcest of early gold coins as a whole and includes one of the greatest of all American rarities, the 1822 half eagle. By the 1820s, bullion dealers took a special interest in American gold coins due to the mandated legal tender ratio of 15 silver dollars to 1 gold dollar. Gold had risen in price enough that the actual value was roughly 16 to 1. Speculators would buy gold coins at face value using silver then export the coins abroad to be melted down for their intrinsic value, earning the speculator a decent profit. The cycle would repeat over and over enough that the vast majority of all circulating federal gold coin ended up overseas and in crucibles. This speculation ran rampant until 1834 when Congress finally put a stop to it by reducing the weight of the gold denominations and increasing the gold to silver ratio. This effectively made the face value of gold coins higher than the bullion value and encouraging their circulation once more. The 1824 half eagle was not immune to this speculation; out of a total reported mintage of 17,340 pieces, only some 30 to 40 examples remain. Garrett and Guth noted in 2008 that the 1824 $5 appears at auction on average less than one time a year. For the half eagle specialist, the appearance of any such example is memorable and worthy of careful consideration.,,PCGS# 8132. NGC ID: 25PZ.,,
