In 1981, the structure was razed, and the long-forgotten pieces came to light. - Q. David Bowers, American Coin Treasures and Hoards, 1997Bright orange-pink mint color covers both sides, positively undimmed on the reverse and only lightly mellowed to gold on the design elements of the obverse. Dramatically lustrous and boldly attractive, this coin offers highly unusual visual appeal for a half cent of this design type. The obverse shows some very minor marks and occasional hairlines, one of which subtly crosses the curl at the corner of Libertys forehead. The reverse is considerably finer from a technical perspective, showing few flaws of any note. A small spot at the base of O of OF is seen, as is a linear flaw that could be as-struck or a short dig above the upper right corner of N in UNITED. The cartwheel is strong, and the strike leaves good detail throughout. The nearly vertical raised die scratch near the denticles of the left obverse is visible, but the reverse is unbroken, leaving this as Manley 2.0. Some faint clash marks are seen within the intricacies around the portrait, and tiny rim breaks join three denticles above the right upright of M in AMERICA and two more between ER. In later states, denticles on both sides lose their definition, but here they remain crisp in most areas.While the emission sequences of Breen and Cohen often differ slightly, the two authors ordered the two Stemless varieties of 1804 inversely. Cohen-10 and Cohen-12 share an obverse; Cohen, Breen, and Manley all agree upon their striking order. Cohen-11 and Cohen-13 share a different obverse. Cohen and Manley order them thusly, while Breen numbered them Breen-12 and Breen-10. Cohen-13 marries the obverse of Cohen-11 and the reverse of Cohen-12, and given the number known, that marriage must have been a long, happy one. Manleys research has determined an emission sequence that agrees with neither Cohen nor Breen: Cohen-11, Cohen-13, and then Cohen-12. This reverse was used later in the plentiful but popular 1805 Cohen-1 and 1806 Cohen-1, the only Stemless varieties of both dates.Offered in the same 1981 New England Rare Coin Galleries auction that featured a famous group of mint red 1821 cents, this coin seems to have come from the same source if not the exact same place. According to that sale catalog "this coin and the previous three lots [also 1804 half cents] were recently discovered during the razing of one of the historic buildings in Bostons financial district so have never previously been offered." The seven 1821 cents in the sale, all showing various degrees of rich mint color, were described as having been "recently brought to light in Boston," though later reports described their source as a building cornerstone. Compared to the notoriety of the 1821 cents, the half cent discovery seems to have been far less celebrated.PCGS has taken the opportunity to award the RD designation to a Draped Bust half cent on just 12 occasions. This is the only 1804 half cent to ever wear that laurel. All others have been dated 1800 or 1806, well known hoard dates. This coin was the star among the 1804 Cohen-13s displayed at the 2010 Early American Coppers Half Cent Happening in Annapolis. Jeff Noonan described the Happening in the pages of Penny-Wise: "The inclusion of the 1804 C13 variety, a controversial choice since it is the most common of all Half Cent varieties, was a very pleasant surprise. It allowed many to participate and as a result, we saw many nice ones, including two Uncirculated standout coins with significant mint red." This specimen, of course, was the best of them.
