Lot Number 92
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1834 Sm Date and Lets. - O.119 R.4 PCGS Shield AU 58
Chances are your set lacks a high grade 1834 O.119. This is a “sleeper” die pair, one of the few to have moved up from its original rarity rating. It was listed as R.3 in the 1971 and 1990 editions of Overton’s standard reference. This example is an old friend. I offered it as part of Keith Davignon’s collection in August 2017 (MB 45, lot 46.) where Dr. Glenn Peterson prevailed at $1,650. The Peterson provenance is noted on the PCGS label. This was my description:
A gossamer veneer of golden toning suggests storage in a kraft envelope. Bold cartwheel luster flows across the devices. Liberty’s fully rounded cheek left little metal for the corresponding area on the reverse. We see weak feathers and planchet striations at the junction of the eagle’s left wing and torso. This die pair is probably the scarcest of the year. Its rarity is only now becoming known. Davignon and a few BHNC colleagues spotted this coin, unattributed, in the Internet session of Heritage’s Jan. 2011 FUN Show sale (lot 10957). The slightly disgruntled consignor was their BHNC comrade Troy Nelson. Despite the absence of an attribution and the obscure catalog placement, the coin brought $1,725. Estimate: $1,200 to $1,500
