1857 Braided Hair Half Cent. C-1. Rarity-2. MS-65 RD (PCGS). Type: Type VI: Braided Hair.Design: Obv: Liberty faces left, a coronet inscribed LIBERTY on her head. Thirteen stars encircle the portrait with the date 1857 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 mm.Die Variety: Cohen-1, Breen-1, Gilbert-1. Obv: The only 1857-dated obverse in the half cent series. Rev: Small berries on the branch. There is a tiny die dot on the right side of the first letter A in AMERICA, above the crossbar. This is the only use of this reverse die.Die State: Manley reports only a single die state for this issue. Obv: Perfect. Rev: Perfect.Edge: Plain.Mintage: 35,180 coins.Estimated Surviving Population for the Issue: Since there is only a single die variety known for the circulation strike 1857 half cent, the estimated surviving population for the issue is the same as that for the die variety.Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-2: 600 to 2,000 coins in all grades.Strike: The obverse is fully struck in all areas except near the upper border, where the top of Libertys coronet is soft, stars 4 to 8 are blunt, and the denticulation is weak. The reverse has an even more exacting strike that wanes minimally only at the ribbon and along the border from 6 to 7 oclock.Surfaces: This vivid and highly appealing Gem is aglow with frosty medium rose surfaces. Smooth and inviting, as befits the assigned grade. A tiny carbon fleck at the border before star 10 is the most useful identifier.Commentary: The 1857 is the last of the United States Mints half cents, many of the 35,180 pieces produced were retained in the Mint until melted after the abolition of the denomination with the Act of February 21, 1857. A number of Mint State coins are known, nonetheless, although the issue vies with the 1849 Large Date as the second scarcest circulation strike in the Braided Hair series. Full Red survivors are rare, and we are aware of only two Gems in this category at PCGS:1 - PCGS MS-65 RD. Ex our (American Numismatic Rarities) New York Connoisseurs Collection sale, March 2006, lot 51, as PCGS MS-64 RD, OGH--First Generation, where it realized $14,950; ESM Collection. <em>The present example</em>.2 - PCGS MS-65 RD. Ex Heritages sale of the James Mossman Collection, January 2009 FUN Auction, lot 158; Heritages Boston ANA Signature & Platinum Night Auction, August 2010, lot 3812.An important bidding opportunity for the specialist that is not likely to be repeated anytime in the near future. From the ESM Collection. Earlier from our (American Numismatic Rarities) New York Connoisseurs Collection sale, March 2006, lot 51, as PCGS MS-64 RD, OGH--First Generation, where it realized $14,950.
