1839 50C Capped Bust AU58+ Certification #55378480, PCGS #6179

O.113.1, R3. CAC. The obverse is terrific. The blue/teal peripheral toning is unusually attractive, but what is particularly likeable is that it doesn't form a simple colored ring. It moves inward irregularly and gives way to amber, gold, violet and silvery areas. Liberty remains the visual center rather than disappearing into the toning. There also appears to be considerable underlying luster. The strike looks very good. Liberty's hair, cap and drapery are remarkably complete; the stars are strong; the date is excellent; and the dentilation is unusually satisfying. Are those a few high points of friction on Liberty? Maybe they explain AU and not MS. From these photographs it is not hard to see why PCGS went to 58+ rather than 58. The reverse is a little less spectacular photographically, but I suspect that is largely the PCGS image. The eagle is very nicely brought up, especially the head, neck, wings and shield. There is attractive blue around portions of the periphery and warmer champagne/gold through the center. There are a few marks — most visibly above the eagle around OF — but nothing troubling for an AU58+. In fact, this says it isn't a sterile coin. It looks like a genuinely old, lightly circulated half dollar with exceptional remaining surface and eye appeal. And there is something very satisfying about what this does to the Everyman collection. This 1839 is the final Philadelphia coin that can now be described as PCGS AU58+, Pop 1. That's an unusually appropriate ending for an Everyman collection built around exceptional AU coins.

Ron Guth

The 1839 Capped Bust Half Dollar is the second rarest of the four dates in this series; only the 1836 Reeded Edge boasts a smaller mintage.  Calling this an 1839 Reeded Edge Half Dollar is incorrect, since the 1839 Seated Liberty Half Dollar also has a Reeded Edge.  However, the connection goes even further than that.  The 1839 Capped Bust Half Dollar comes with two different reverses: Large Letters and Small Letters.  In actuality, the size of the lettering is almost identical, so we must rely on other characteristics to differentiate the reverses:

1. Large Letters Reverse - legends close to the outer border.  Eagle larger, with olive leaves and arrowheads closer to the border.  This design was a holdover from 1838.  Common.

2. Smsall Letters Reverse - legends farther away from the borders.  Eagle smaller, with olive leaves and arrowheads well away from the border.  This is the design that was also used on 1839 Seated Liberty Half Dollars.   Rare.

Mint State examples of the 1839 Capped Bust, Large Letters Reverse Half Dollar are somewhat scarce, though not nearly as plentifuol as the 1836 Reeded Edge and the 1839-O.  Gems are quite rare, with only a handful of PCGS MS65 examples known.  The finest example is a single PCGS MS66.