1843 Braided Hair Half Cent. Second Restrike. B-3. Rarity-7. Small Berries (Reverse of 1840). Proof-66 RB (NGC). A fully struck specimen with intricate design elements and broad, squared-off rims. Abundant original mint color remains in the form of underlying pinkish-apricot shining through an overlay of iridescent copper-brown patina. On the cusp of Superb Gem quality, and a stellar example of the type, issue and die pairing.<p>Even though Gobrechts Braided Hair half cent design was introduced in 1840, it would not be until 1849 that the denomination was produced for circulation. Until then, only Proof half cents were produced and even then, only in the smallest of quantities, all with large berries on the reverse wreath. As stocks of Original Proof half cents were depleted, sometime around 1856 or 1857 the Mint then used the 1856 Proof reverse die bearing much smaller berries and struck limited numbers of Proof Restrikes for the earlier dates and kept them on hand. Later, when even those supplies dwindled, even smaller numbers of coins were produced to meet demand from collectors from a new reverse die. The relatively more available First Restrike B-2 coins are easily differentiated from the Original B-1 coins and the later Second Restrike B-3 specimens through the plainly doubled/repunched T in CENT. The significantly rarer B-3 variety, as here, were all struck using a reverse die believed to have been cut around 1859 with clear die file marks above the letters RICA in AMERICA. Precise mintage figures are not known but all told it is thought that somewhere between 125 and 200 Proof 1843 half cents were struck for all three varieties. Estimates vary as to how many examples of the B-3 die marriage survive. In our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg Collection in May 1996, the cataloger wrote that just eight examples of the die combination were known at that time, a number that has not been bolstered by many additional discoveries in the intervening 23 years. At best between seven and 12 specimens are known, a number that will unlikely change much, if at all. As a class, Proof half cents are significant rarities and here is the rarest of the rare. It may be years before another B-3 crosses the auction block, so connoisseurs of the denomination should plan accordingly. From Heritages sale of the Donald G. Partrick Collection, April 2021 CSNS Signature Auction, lot 3746.
