1850-C Liberty Head Half Eagle. AU-58 (NGC). Vivid orange-gold patina blankets both sides, tinges of pale olive evident as the surfaces rotate away from direct lighting. Otherwise satiny in texture, both sides reveal modest semi-reflective tendencies in the fields as the coin dips into a light. This is an overall sharply struck example in a Charlotte Mint half eagle, the hair curls over Libertys brow bold and the stars and eagles plumage crisp. The C mintmark is faint, however, corresponding to the Winter-4 attribution, on which the mintmark was lightly entered into the die. We stress, however, that the C is full, readily evident at all viewing angles, and reveals minor repunching at the top when viewed with the aid of a loupe. Thanks in no small part to a relatively generous mintage of 63,591 pieces, the 1850-C is one of the more readily obtainable Charlotte Mint half eagles. Even so, survivors with the quality and eye appeal offered here are rare in todays market. Winter-4 is the most frequently encountered die marriage of the issue.
