1831 Classic Head Half Cent. C-1, the only known dies. Rarity-6-. EF-45 (PCGS). Type: Type V: Classic Head.Design: Obv: Liberty faces left, her hair bound by a fillet inscribed LIBERTY. Thirteen stars are arranged around the border, seven left and six right, the date 1831 below. Rev: A single branch bound at the bottom by a single bowed ribbon surrounds the denomination HALF CENT. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the border.Weight Standard: 84 grains (5.44 grams).Diameter: 23.5 mm.Die Variety: Cohen-1, Breen-1, Gilbert-1. Obv: This is the only 1831-dated obverse in the half cent series. Rev: The highest leaf in the branch extends minimally past the final letter S in STATES. The lower left base of an errant letter protrudes from the highest leaf within the branch, above the letters HA in HALF. This reverse was later used in the 1832 C-1 pairing.Die State: Manley reports only a single die state of this variety. Obv: Perfect. Rev: Perfect.Edge: Plain.Mintage: Government records provide a mintage of 2,200 half cents for calendar year 1831, the exact nature of these coins having been long debated by numismatic scholars. Some, including Cohen and Breen, believe that at least some circulation strikes were produced from the 1831-dated obverse that year. Others, including Manley, believe that no circulation strike 1831 half cents were ever produced (all known examples struck as Proofs), the 2,200-piece mintage referring to the Mints initial delivery from 1832-dated dies.Estimated Surviving Population for the Issue: Only 30 or so original 1831 half cents are believed extant, including Proofs and specimens certified in circulated grades by PCGS.Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-6-: Approximately 30 coins in all grades.Strike: Ample boldness of detail remains on both sides; the wear is light as would be expected for the assigned grade and is largely confined to the highest elements of Libertys portrait on the obverse, and the branch on the reverse.Surfaces: Warm medium brown surfaces with some mottled olive-charcoal overtones that are more widely distributed on the reverse. There are no sizable or otherwise distracting marks, a tiny and well concealed carbon spot on the reverse within the leaves below the letter C in CENT is perhaps the most useful identifier.Commentary: This is a famous and enigmatic half cent date that has long challenged both numismatic scholars and collectors. Despite arguments to the contrary, there is likely no such thing as a circulation strike 1831 half cent, though a few somewhat worn pieces have been certified, including the present example in PCGS EF-45 and another in the Missouri Cabinet that was assigned a grade of AU-55 by PCGS. Instead, there are three varieties of Proofs that collectors can choose from to own an example of this date. Original 1831 half cents, struck in Proof finish in 1831, are from the C-1 dies, and they include a few lightly circulated specimens, as here. The 1831 half cents with the reverse type of 1840 (Breen-3, Second Restrike) were coined much later, perhaps as late as the 1870s, and are also extremely rare. Just five are known. Most date collectors end up acquiring one of the First Restrikes (Breen-2), if they ever find one at all. Those use a reverse from 1836 and were likely coined in the late 1850s, when interest in United States copper coins first began to blossom.A formidable rarity in all formats and key to an advanced half cent collection, acquiring any 1831 half cent is an immense challenge. Market appearances are usually few and far between, underscoring the importance of this offering. From the ESM Collection.
