1839 50C No Drapery (Regular Strike)
Series: Liberty Seated Half Dollars 1839-1891
PCGS MS65+
No Drapery vs With Drapery
PCGS MS65+
- PCGS #:
- 6230
- Designer:
- Thomas Sully/Christian Gobrecht
- Edge:
- Reeded
- Diameter:
- 30.00 millimeters
- Weight:
- 13.36 grams
- Mintage:
- 100,000
- Mint:
- Philadelphia
- Metal:
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $172,500 • MS67 • 01-05-2011 • Heritage Auctions
Major Varieties
- 1839 50C No Drapery
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 1,500 |
| 60 or Better | 50 |
| 65 or Better | 3 |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-4.8 |
| 60 or Better | R-8.5 |
| 65 or Better | R-9.8 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 1 / 1 |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 1 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 1 |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 99 / 126 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 51 / 126 TIE |
| 65 or Better | 18 / 126 TIE |
Condition Census What Is This?
|
#1 PCGS MS65+
As PCGS MS65 #2574984. "The Larry H. Miller Collection," Stack's Bowers, December 17, 2020, Lot 1081 - $138,000. As PCGS MS65 #56865345. "The Contursi Family" (PCGS Set Registry). WB-4. |
#1 Est. MS65+
As PCGS #38681270. Heritage Auctions, April 23, 2020, Lot 3711 - $150,000; Dell Loy Hansen. WB-1. This coin is no longer in a PCGS holder. |
|
#1 Est. MS65+
As NGC MS67 #1727946-010. “The Joseph C. Thomas Collection, Part Two,” Heritage Auctions, January 6, 2011, Lot 5558 – $172,500. |
#4 PCGS MS65
‘The Lawrence Stack Type Set,” Stack’s, by sale, January 2003. As PCGS MS65 #32916369. “The D. Brent Pogue Family Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, March 31, 2017, Lot 5026 – $141,000; Oliver Jung; Dell Loy Hansen. Lustrous example with speckled orange and magenta toning throughout. |
#4 PCGS MS65
Kevin Lipton, September 2005. Unknown Intermediary. As NGC MS65 #448216-002. Heritage Auctions, June 23, 2014, Lot 30482 – $88,125. As PCGS MS65 #49629847. WB-1. |
#5 PCGS MS64+
|
#5 PCGS MS64+
|
The 1839 "No Drapery" Half Dollar is named after it's most obvious feature -- the lack of a fold of drapery beneath Liberty's left arm (the one on the viewer's right). Later in the year, the obverse design was modified, not only by adding the drapery, but by changing the shape of the rock on which Liberty sits, and by altering the folds in her gown.
According to the PCGS Population Report (as of June 2011), the 1839 No Drapery Half Dollar is slighly more scarce than the 1839 With Drapery Half Dollar, not only in all grades, but in Mint State, as well. The most frequently-seen Mint State grade is MS-63 (11 graded). The 1839 No Drapery Half Dollar becomes very scarce in MS-64 and authentically rare in MS-65 (3 graded). None have been graded finer.
The 1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar, No Drapery
The Wiley-Bugert reference assigns major catalog numbers WB-101 to the 1839 Liberty Seated Half Dollar No Drapery (#6230) and WB-102 to the With Drapery variety (#6232). The term "drapery" refers to a small section of fabric extending from behind Liberty's raised elbow to her left knee. On coins struck with "no drapery" dies, this feature is absent; instead, the edge of the fabric terminates in a slightly diagonal line just to the right of the pole, leaving an open space beneath Liberty's elbow.
Breaking it down further, within the No Drapery type (WB-101), the Bugert reference identifies four distinct die marriages struck from two obverse and four reverse dies:
- WB-1 (#572000): Obverse 1 + Reverse A
- WB-2 (#801665): Obverse 1 + Reverse B
- WB-3 (#801666): Obverse 1 + Reverse C
- WB-4 (#801667): Obverse 2 + Reverse D
Because auction catalogers and non-specialist dealers rarely report specific die marriages, tracking sales data for individual WB-1 through WB-4 varieties remains challenging — creating prime opportunities for alert cherrypickers.
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