Description |
1795/1795 50C Recut Date, Three Leaves AU58 NGC. O-111, High R.4. Ex: "Col." E.H.R. Green. This near-Mint 1795 Three Leaves half dollar sports album toning, light silver-gray centers under splashes of pale gold and peripheral ultramarine toning. Additional sea-green and hazel toning shows on the reverse. The surfaces are mildly reflective. Both sides show the usual small handling marks with more prominent marks near the E in LIBERTY on the obverse and between STATES OF on the reverse. The obverse has a delicate die crack joining stars 3 through 6. The reverse has the usual distinctive die crack across the eagle's left wing and body, with a co-planar reverse die face. Note that the eagle's details below the crack are much sharper than those above the crack. The obverse of this example is plated as Obverse 4 in the Beistle reference. This is an important Guide Book variety that enjoys strong demand. The Overton reference rates the die pair as R.3, but most students of the series believe its rarity to be high R.4, with about 100 surviving examples in all grades. We believe the Newman coin may be the finest known 1795 Three Leaves half dollar. Although an uncertified MS63 example is listed in Overton, we can find no other reference to the coin and are unsure of its existence. Stephen Herrman records a cleaned AU from the Charlton Meyer collection as the finest recently offered for sale. That coin now resides in the Overton Collection. Herrman also lists one XF45 example and a few XF40 coins as having been offered over the last decade. The Eric P. Newman specimen is finer than any of those coins, and represents an extraordinary opportunity for the specialist. Ex: "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate; Partnership of Eric P. Newman / B.G. Johnson d.b.a. St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co.; Eric P. Newman @ $400.00; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Realized $41,125.00 . Description courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com. |