1850-C Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter-1. MS-61 (NGC).This handsome Charlotte Mint half eagle has full satin luster and rich honey-rose and olive-gold patina on both sides. The strike is generally sharp with just a touch of softness to the central obverse high point and the eagles legs. Pleasingly smooth, exceptionally so for both the issue and the assigned grade. Winter-1 attribution with a strong C mintmark and the diagnostic reverse die crack from the border before the letter U in UNITED. The reverse is rotated 45 degrees counterclockwise from normal coin alignment.Charlotte Mint half eagle production remained relatively high going into the 1850s; the first issue of that decade had a mintage of 63,951 pieces. The 1850-C is one of the more available dates in this Southern gold series, and circulated examples in VF and EF are ideal candidates for inclusion in a mintmarked gold type set. With no contemporary numismatic interest in these coins, however, the rigors of commerce claimed most 1850-C fives with the result that Mint State survivors are rare. This piece is among the finest certified and also one of the finest extant, and would do justice to an advanced gold cabinet.PCGS# 8244. NGC ID: 25TZ.From the Trebuchet Collection.
