1805 Draped Bust Half Dollar. O-114, T-8. Rarity-8. VG-8 (PCGS). CAC.A standout highlight in the E. Horatio Morgan Collection of Half Dollars, this coin is one of just two known examples of the legendary 1805 Overton-114 variety. Handsome dove gray patina in the fields yields to lighter silver gray over many of the design elements. The strike on the obverse is trivially off center to 2 oclock, the upper right border devoid of denticulation, but the remainder of the border well defined. All major design elements on that side are fully outlined and clear, the end of Libertys bust bluntly struck, but this feature is not readily evident on its own as the softness there blends in with other lack of detail that is commensurate with wear. For the reverse we note a similar pattern of strike: no denticulation from 11 to 2 oclock due to a slightly off center impression, the area above the eagles left wing blunt due to being in opposition to the end of Libertys bust, but all other major design elements bold for the assigned grade. The overall appearance is smooth in hand, the obverse especially so, provenance concerns alone compelling us to mention a few tiny nicks within the softly struck area on the reverse above the eagles left wing. Tompkins Die Stage 1/1, the only one confirmed.<p>As stated above, there are only two examples known for the 1805 O-114 die marriage, which is the rarest of the issue. This variety was discovered in 1973 by Don Frederick, per Sheridan Downey, and the present example is the only one to have appeared at auction. The known examples are:<p>1 - <strong>Fine Details.</strong> Ex Don Frederick; Dr. Gerald Schertz; Overton Collection. The discovery coin for the variety, and the plate coin for the variety in the 2015 early half dollar reference by Steve M. Tompkins.<p>2 - <strong>PCGS VG-8.</strong> Ex Richard Pugh, discovered and purchased unattributed at a Long Beach coin show in 1987; Superiors sale of the Richard Pugh Collection of Bust Half Dollar, May-June 1992 Dr. Jack Adams Collection sale, lot 759; Robinson S. Brown, Jr. Collection; E. Horatio Morgan Collection via Sheridan Downey. <strong><em>The present example</em></strong>, and the plate coin for the variety in the third, fourth and fifth editions of the Overton reference on early half dollar varieties.<p>Until recently a third specimen of the 1805 O-114 half dollar was believed extant, the coin pictured in the 1981 BHNC Supplement and attributed as the discovery coin for the variety in the 2015 Tompkins reference. Thanks to recollections and research by Sheridan Downey and others leading up to this auction, it was determined that the "coin" pictured in the 1981 BHNC Supplement was not really an 1805 O-114 half dollar, but rather a composite image of two different coins from other die pairings to illustrate the obverse and reverse. The obverse of the 1805 O-114 was also used in the O-107 marriage, while the reverse of the 1805 O-114 is a workhorse die used in several other marriages: 1805 O-102, O-108, O-110 and 1806 O-104.<p>Representing what could very well be a once in a lifetime bidding opportunity for the advanced early half dollar variety collector, the strongest bids are encouraged when this coin comes up for auction in Baltimore.From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. Acquired from Sheridan Downey. Earlier ex Richard Pugh, discovered and purchased unattributed at a Long Beach coin show in 1987; Superiors sale of the Richard Pugh Collection of Bust Half Dollar, May-June 1992 Dr. Jack Adams Collection sale, lot 759; Robinson S. Brown, Jr. Collection. The plate coin for the variety in the third, fourth and fifth editions of the Overton reference on early half dollar varieties.
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