Lot Number 1
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1794 - O.108, T-6 R.7 PCGS VG 10
We begin with the most important coin in the sale! Al Overton listed the variety as “O.15” in his 1967 inaugural work. M.L. Beistle plated the unique obverse in his 1929 treatise, A Register of Half Dollar Die Varieties and Sub-Varieties. The rarity of the issue has stood the test of time. Only 8 confirmed examples have appeared in the nearly 90 years since Beistle first described it. The present coin was uncovered in a consignment to Bowers & Merena’s Father Flannagan Sale, Nov. 2001 (lot 4002) where it brought $13,800. Charles De Olden became the next owner. Heritage sold his remarkable collection of early half-dollars during the 2008 FUN Show. Harry Laibstain was the buyer of lot 2829 at $27,600. He soon passed it to our consignor, Dr. Charles Link, owner of the finest collection of bust half-dollars ever assembled. Dr. Link elected to release his prize after acquiring the Robert Hilt coin (NGC XF details, cleaned) at the April 2015 Heritage sale of the Hilt family coins. (Lot 5058 brought $44,650.) The coin is charming. Turquoise and gold album toning blankets the obverse. The reverse is a natural pale grey. Surface marks are unobtrusive and consistent with PCGS’ conservative grade. The coin is more than a match in detail and eye appeal for the Green-Newman example, graded NGC F.12, sold by Heritage in Nov. 2013, lot 33410 @$32,900. (I had the pleasure of cataloging Newman’s half-dollars.) Steve Tompkins plated the De Olden-Link coin, offering a grade of F.15 in his 2015 tome on early half-dollars (p.37). Prices of “common” die varieties of 1794 half-dollars, O.101-103-104-105-106, tumbled when Heritage began selling the late Terry Brand’s hoard of over 200 pieces last year. Prices for the R.7 and R.8 die pairs, O.108 through O.111, remain firm. I’m still recovering from the shock of seeing Hilt’s 1794 VF 25 O.109 hammered down at $705,000! Est. $23,000 to $30,000.
