Heritage to Offer "A Classic Rarity"!

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers (HG&A) will offer the finest-known 1836 50C Reeded Edge PR65 NGC at their official January 3-7, 2006 Florida United Numismatists Signature Auction.

"This is a classic rarity in U.S. numismatics," said Greg Rohan, President of HG&A. "It is also the key to the Reeded Edge series along with the branch mint proofs."

"This is one of the first proofs struck using the new steam presses installed at the mint in 1836," Rohan said. "These new presses allowed the use of a close collar and made the production of consistently higher quality coins a realistic goal. To quote Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson, 'this is struck in a close collar, which makes the edge of pieces thicker, and gives a mathematical equality to the diameters.'

"Breen estimates a population of 'at least 12 proofs' in his Complete Encyclopedia," Rohan continued, "and lists eight different examples in his 1977 work on proofs. This is a splendid proof striking. The fields are very deeply mirrored, and almost imperceptibly hairlined. Each side is covered with deep shades of blue-gray and golden-rose toning. The outer margins of the coin are a bit darker in hue. The central striking details are unusually strong with finely detailed hair curls on Liberty and fully articulated plumage on the eagle. The stars on the obverse, however, are quite weak and incomplete for a proof striking. This is an extraordinary proof striking of one of the most numismatically desirable coins from the 19th century."

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