Lot Number 69
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1828 - Sq. 2, Sm. 8, Lg. Lets O.123a R.5+ PCGS AU 55
From the Dr. Charles Link Collection. The kingpin 1828 and on the short list of die pairs vying for the title of toughest R.5 in the entire capped bust series. The variety is hallmarked by “railroad tracks” under the left wing and a rim break that affects the dentils between stars 5-6. These attribution keys apply to 90% of the known examples. There are a few pieces, never seen by Al Overton, which lack the reverse die injury. Interestingly, the obverse die was flipflopped between the reverse dies of the O.122 and O.123. But that’s another story. This important coin comes with natural silver-grey toning. Luster is muted by hairlines from an ancient wiping. Neither PCGS nor NGC found them significant. The coin last appeared at auction in B&M’s 2001 FUN Show sale, lot 200, as NGC AU 58. It failed to sell. In October 2004 Dave Olmstead (Alpine Numismatics) offered the coin in his fixed price list at $5,400. Dr. Charles Link jumped at the opportunity. I expect it to be a long time before another AU 1828 O.123 comes to market. Here’s your chance. Est. $5.000 to $8,000.
