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| Image | Sale date | Auction house | Location | Sale name | Lot No. | Estimate | Price Sold | Condition | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 7, 2016 | Bonhams | Los Angeles | Coins And Medals | 42 | $****** - ****** | 1796 50C 15 Stars, Genuine, Repaired VF Details PCGS |
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O-101, R.5. The Draped Bust, Small Eagle halves are among the most mysterious of U.S. coin types, as well as among the rarest. Two obverses dated 1796, respectively with 15 and 16 stars, were muled with a single reverse, which was carried over to make the first of the two varieties dated 1797 -- again with 15 stars, not 16. Why? By internal evidence, both 15-star obverses must have been made before June 1796, as the shift to 16 stars commemorated the admission of Tennessee to the Union on June 1. Then the 16-star die must have been completed either anticipating or following the celebrations of that time. The draped portrait of Liberty is by Robert Scot after a drawing by Gilbert Stuart, modeled by Mrs. William Bingham (nee Ann Willing), Philadelphia socialite reputed to be one of the most beautiful women of her day. John Eckstein is credited with the eagle; the palm branches were originally a compliment to Mint Director DeSaussure's South Carolina homeland, but by the time these half dollars were made, the device was an anachronism, as DeSaussure had long since resigned.
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This specimen traces its heritage to the Egolf Collection (Stack's, 5/1961) where it was listed as VF Counterstamped, lot 929, where it sold for $1,050 according to Jon Amato in his book The Draped Bust Half Dollars of 1796-1797. Its later pedigree includes: the Robert W. Rusbar Collection, (Bowers & Merena, 9/1990) VF20, lot 273 $18,700; and the Scotsman Auction Co. (2/2007) VF20 lot 542, $50,600.
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When first offered at Stacks, there was a group of seven diamond-shaped punch marks on Liberty's temple, forehead, and adjacent hair. Later in the catalog, these were attributed as counterstamp marks: "This curious mark is definitely attributable to a Trinidad counterstamp. Many of our early coins have this mark as they circulated in the Antilles. A description of a similar... counterstamp can be found in "Counterstamped Coins of The Americas" by Howland Wood." Later when offered by Bowers & Merena, all of the punch marks have been removed -- an attempt to "improve" the coin's appearance. From an estimated mintage of 3,918 pieces, a figure that includes the present variety as well as the 1796 half dollars known with 16 obverse stars, and all the 1797 mintage as well. Nice, original peripheral toning, slightly deeper on the reverse with much lighter silver-gray centers. A few small marks and edge chips are noted and used as pedigree identifiers in Amato's reference. Certainly one of the most prized rarities in the arena of American numismatic desirability, and certain to attract strong bidding when it crosses the auction block. (PCGS 6057)
