1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar. O-105, T-3. Rarity-5. AU-58+ (PCGS). Secure Holder.，An aesthetically pleasing and highly significant coin, this is the finest known 1794 O-105 half dollar. Satiny surfaces are dressed in rich steel-olive patina, the luster virtually complete. Splashes of reddish-orange color are evident along the right obverse and reverse borders, direct lighting also calling forth iridescent undertones of antique gold and blue-gray. The strike is ideally centered on the planchet and as close to full as one could realistically expect for the issue. Denticulation is full around both sides, the individual tresses of Libertys hair are crisply delineated, and the detail to the eagles head and wing feathers is sharp. The only mentionable softness, and it is minor, is confined to stars 11 to 14 on the obverse and the eagles breast and left leg on the reverse. Smooth in hand, light adjustments marks in and around the central reverse and along the upper right border on the same side are as made and noted solely for accuracy. With nearly full luster and virtually complete striking detail, this coin has the appearance of Mint State quality and, indeed, it was certified MS-62 by NGC when offered in our (Bowers and Merenas) August 2010 offering. A thoroughly appealing, premium quality example that is sure to sell for a strong bid. Tompkins Die Stage 2 with a reverse crack from the border to the first letter T in STATES that continues to the leaves below.<p>Of the 11 known die marriages of the 1794 half dollar, O-105 is the most frequently encountered in numismatic circles after only O-101. This is not to imply that this is a common variety in an absolute sense, for the 1794 as an issue is scarce to rare in all grades, irrespective of die marriage. The first half dollars struck in the United States Mint were 5,300 examples delivered on December 1, 1794. All of these coins are assumed to have been struck from 1794-dated dies. The <em>Guide Book</em>, among other numismatic references, provides a mintage figure of 23,464 pieces for this issue, assuming that the 18,164 half dollars delivered on February 4, 1795 were also coined from 1794-dated dies. This is conjecture, the mintage figure of 23,464 pieces an estimate, and we will never know for certain whether the coins delivered on February 4, 1795 were dated 1794, 1795, or both. Based on the number of die marriages known for the 1794-dated issue, as well as the number of coins extant, it is likely that at least some of the coins delivered in early 1795 were from 1794-dated dies. We suspect that the actual mintage for this issue is somewhat less than 23,464 pieces, a limited total for sure, and most examples have long since been lost to commercial use.<p>Although obtainable by 1794 half dollar variety standards, O-105 is conditionally challenging with the vast majority of survivors well worn in grades such as VG, Fine and VF. The Condition Census as given in the 2015 reference <em>Early United States Half Dollars, Volume 1: 1794-1807</em> by Steve M. Tompkins reads: 62, 58, 53, 53, 53, 50, 45. The MS-62 listed by Tompkins is actually the present example in its earlier certification, as related above, so the revised Condition Census would read: 58+, 58, 53, 53, 53, 50, 45. The Condition Census #2 coin in AU-58 is the Eliasberg specimen that we (Stacks) most recently offered as lot 2003 in our Amherst & Waccabuc Collections sale of November 2007.，PCGS# 6051.，，From the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation. Earlier from our (Bowers and Merenas) Boston Rarities Sale, August 2010, lot 1004, in which offering it was certified MS-62 by NGC.
