1838 50C PR66+ Certification #-32380, PCGS #6225

CoinFacts Details

Owner's Comments

PCGS grade. Ex. Newcomb; Raymond (1946) Sold by David Akers Numismatics May '98. Price realized $93,500. Pedigreed 5/6/15.

Expert Comments

Ron Guth

Proof 1838 Reeded Edge Half Dollars are exceedingly rare. Presently, only five examples are known, two if which are in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, leaving only three examples for collectors to fight over. One of the Smithsonian examples appears to have been placed into the collection in the year of issue, which, concidentally, was the year the Mint Cabinet was established.

The finest Proof 1838 Half Dollar is the PCGS PR66 from the Pittman Collection

Four of the five Proofs are of the GR-14 variety (based on Dick Graham's attribution scheme), all of which have a cracked reverse and some interesting die anomalies on the obverse. We await confirmation of the die variety of the Pittman coin to complete the census.

PCGS #

6225

Designer

Christian Gobrecht

Edge

Reeded

Diameter

30.00 millimeters

Weight

13.36 grams

Mintage

Metal

90% Silver, 10% Copper

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Region

The United States of America

Price Guide

PCGS Population

Auctions - PCGS Graded

Auctions - NGC Graded

Condition Census Learn More

Pos	Grade	Pedigree and History
1	PR66+ PCGS grade	Howard R. Newcomb Collection - J.C. Morgenthau & Co. 5/1945:850 - Wayte Raymond, sold privately on 5/14/1946 - John Jay Pittman Collection, Part II - David Akers 5/1998:1513, $93,500 - Bowers & Merena 8/2000:4114, not sold - Bowers & Merena 7/2002:301, $97,750 - Heritage 1/2007:979, $161,000 - Larry Hanks, sold privately - D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part IV - Stack's/Bowers & Sotheby's 5/2016:4005, $199,750 - Heritage 8/2018:5145, $336,000
2	PR64 PCGS grade	Reed Hawn Collection - Stack's 8/1973:120 - Long Beach Connoisseur - Bowers & Merena 8/1999:199, $33,350 - Coinberts Proofs
2	PR64 PCGS grade	“Obtained by a European noble while visiting this country in the middle 19th century and retained by the same family until the present time” [per the 2013 Heritage catalog] - Heritage 9/2013:6435, $94,000 - Heritage 4/2014:5598, $129,250
4	Proof	Virgil Brand Collection - Lichtenfels Collection - Kreisberg - Schulman 2/1961:2793, $775 - R.E. Cox, Jr. Collection - Stack's 4/1962:1871, $550 - unknown donor - National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution (accession #244872-002)
4	Proof	National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution

#1 PR66+ PCGS grade

Howard R. Newcomb Collection - J.C. Morgenthau & Co. 5/1945:850 - Wayte Raymond, sold privately on 5/14/1946 - John Jay Pittman Collection, Part II - David Akers 5/1998:1513, $93,500 - Bowers & Merena 8/2000:4114, not sold - Bowers & Merena 7/2002:301, $97,750 - Heritage 1/2007:979, $161,000 - Larry Hanks, sold privately - D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part IV - Stack's/Bowers & Sotheby's 5/2016:4005, $199,750 - Heritage 8/2018:5145, $336,000

#2 PR64 PCGS grade

Reed Hawn Collection - Stack's 8/1973:120 - Long Beach Connoisseur - Bowers & Merena 8/1999:199, $33,350 - Coinberts Proofs

#2 PR64 PCGS grade

“Obtained by a European noble while visiting this country in the middle 19th century and retained by the same family until the present time” [per the 2013 Heritage catalog] - Heritage 9/2013:6435, $94,000 - Heritage 4/2014:5598, $129,250

#4 Proof

Virgil Brand Collection - Lichtenfels Collection - Kreisberg - Schulman 2/1961:2793, $775 - R.E. Cox, Jr. Collection - Stack's 4/1962:1871, $550 - unknown donor - National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution (accession #244872-002)

#4 Proof

National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution