1849-C Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter-2. AU-55 (PCGS). CAC. Subtle pale silver tinting enhances otherwise dominant honey-olive color for this attractively original example. Lustrous for the grade with a predominantly frosty texture, and some appreciable semi-reflectivity in the fields. A bit soft in the centers, although the strike is appreciably sharper toward the borders. As one of the more frequently encountered issues in the Charlotte Mint half eagle series, the 1849-C is an ideal candidate for a mintmarked type set. However, the 1849-C is rarer than the 1852-C and 1858-C in high grades such as AU and Mint State. Examples in those grades with attractive surfaces, as here, are particularly elusive and eagerly sought.<p>Seldom encountered in numismatic circles, Doug Winter (2008) describes the 1849-C Winter-2 attribution as "many times rarer than Variety 1." The reverse die is perfect without the prominent crack before the letter U in UNITED that is almost always seen on Winter-1 examples. PCGS# 8241. NGC ID: 25TW. PCGS Population: 28; 28 finer, 17 of which are Mint State (MS-64 finest).<p>CAC Population: 18 in all AU grades. From the Fairmont Collection - JBR Set.
