Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins 1722-1989

Half Dime. *V-2. Thin date, tops of 184 and left top of 7 touch base, 47 closer spaced than usual; die defects at every star; heavy rev. lettering. (1) SI from Mint. (2) Eliasberg. (3) Bullowa, May 1952. (4) Atwater: 1155, scratched. (5) T. K. Harvin, Wolfson:455, believed later W. L. Carson. (6) Merkin 4/66:80, H. W., 1971 ANA:625, Reed Hawn: 608 at $400. Cf. also Parmelee:1185; H. P. Smith:1030 (same coin?); McCoy: 646, Zanoni, Cleneay: 1699; Menjou: 117; Newcomb II: 810 and those in the proof sets. Source and fate of the Valentine coin unknown.

Dime. *Normal date, left, all digits touch device. Rev. Striae from TED to wreath. (1) SI from Mint. (2) J. C. Morgenthau 1/43:441, Phila. Estate. (3) WGC:532, Adolph Friedman, 1946 ANA: 269. Possibly same as next. (4) Parmelee:1184, H. P. Smith: 956. (5) "Dupont": 1574. (6) Lester Merkin, ca. 1960, to an upper N.Y. state collector. That in the Winsor proof set is probably not included; and at least one other is floating around, which I have lost track of.

Quarter. *Normal date, heavily punched, about centered. Rev. of 1846 proofs. (1) SI from Mint. (2) Elder, 1925, Ryder, Wayte Raymond, NN 49:1153, Eugene Gardner, Gardner: 1651, $520, Phila. Estate. (3) Morgenthau 10/5/39 :378, Phila. Estate. (4) Atwater:700, Neil:923. (5) "J. H. South":511. (6) NN 54:1119, Merkin. (7) Parmelee:1183, H. P. Smith:813. It is possible that duplications exist among the last four. Source of the W. L. Carson coin is not known.

Half dollar. 1847/46. Beistle I-A. Identifiable by fragments of bottoms of 1846 date (the curve of base of 6 not matching the curve of bottom of 7) well below 1847 date and somewhat to left of it, the base of 6 below space between 47. Most of the known specimens (business strikes and the solitary proof) were not identified until recent years, partly because Beistle was vague about the details. The finest of about 4 or 5 known of this variety has been called a proof by all its owners of record. Its surface on obverse is convincing enough; its reverse is more satiny than mirrorlike, but the sharpness is comparable to obv. "Dupont" :2131 at $1,000, C. A. Cass, "Empire" :1379, $925, Reed Hawn:161, $7,500, Dr. E. Yale Clarke:276. This is by no means the most spectacular of the blundered dies Longacre committed during his neophyte days at the Mint (see 1844 B-8 cent, 1846 blundered date dollar for a couple others found on proofs); his experience was as a banknote plate engraver, hardly relevant to diesinking. The 1846 date logotype was weakly punched in at a plane oblique to the surface of the die, as with the other errors just named.

- *Normal date, thin, placed low in field. Shield point about over left edge of 8, left base of 1 slightly r. of center of dentil, rev. scattered crisscross diagonal file marks in white stripes. (1) SI, from Mint. (2) Earle:2991, J. G. MacAllister 12/12/1938, Phila. Estate. (3) Garrett: 210. (4) Norweb. (5) Boyd, WGC:289, E. M. Seneca, S 3/65:451. Either this or no. 2 is likely to have been ex Parmelee: 1182, H. P. Smith:687. (6) Col. Green, Adolph Friedman, 1946 ANA :827. (7) Cass, "Empire": 1380. (8) Brand, Lichtenfels I:2826, R. E. Cox:1913, 1975 ANA:575. (9) Reed Hawn:162, $2,200, probably same as one of last four. (10) Armand Champa:889, "Terrell":859, same comment. There are a few others floating around, mostly badly cleaned and/or nicked.

Silver Dollar. *B-1. Date about centered, not heavily logotyped; left base of lover space between dentils. Rev. as on earlier dates, with the two minute defects on r. side of final A. Sometimes with faint line from D to beak to wingtip. (1) SI, from Mint. (2) Eliasberg. (3) WGC:138, possibly ex Parmelee: 1181, Bement :239, possibly same as next. (4) Cass, "Empire":1731. (5) T. James Clarke, NN 48:658, Kagin. (6) Amon Carter Sr. & Jr. (7) Wayte Raymond 8/23/38:132, Phila. Estate. (8) Bluestone 9/17/40:.623, Phila. Estate. (9) "Dupont" :2523, impaired. Source of the W. L. Carson coin unknown. Geiss:342, "recut 4," is unverified. Cf. Col. Green, Roe:443.

As in 1843, there are a great many deceptive early business strikes, with light (B-2) or heavy (B-3) dates, and with different reverse dies; usually they have traces of mint front in field near stars, letters, or eagle's neck, and no die polish in shield. Presence of die polish in shield (parts representing white stripes) is evidence in favor of proof status, though not by itself conclusive; its absence, when not replaced by die file marks, is suspicious in that this was one of the parts of the die in highest relief, thus one of the parts most strongly contacted by the buffing wheel used to polish dies for proofing.

Silver-minor proof sets. (1) Winsor: 1068. The half cent was original, other coins all proofs but not described in detail. (2) Stickney: 1791, from the Mint in the year of date: silver dollar proof, smaller silver all unc. (!), cent and half cent proof, latter with large berries. Same comment as to the 1844 set Stickney:1788, above. The Stickney set probably was broken up, the Winsor set may well survive intact; whereabouts unknown. (3) McCoy:373, to Levick, "5 Pieces," probably no copper coins; possibly same as Winsor's upgraded in the meantime.

Quarter Eagle, Half Eagle, Eagle. Known only from the Mint Collection's proof set now housed in the Smithsonian. Same comment as to previous years.
Complete proof sets. None reported aside from that furnished the Mint Cabinet collection.

1848

*Half Cent. One obv.: date too large, fills space below device; 6th star double punched; large berry reverse of 1840-47. Three in museums (Smithsonian, ANS and Johns Hopkins). About a half dozen proofs in collectors' hands aside from the two restrikes from these dies (Farouk's thick flan coin and Brobston's underweight one, the latter offered at $800 as original: see Restrikes and Fantasy Pieces). "Dupont": 1145 went to D. N.; the Wayte Raymond April 6, 1926: 75 - Ryder-NN 44: 327 went to L. W(erner ?); Wolfson: 35 and Holmes: 1341 appear to be different coins, etc. A single worn example is known: "Century": 120 at $240.

Cent. Note that the earlier varieties of the year have an "open 4" logotype, more like the style of 4 used on 1847's, with crosslet well away from base. The later varieties have "closed 4" with long cross let almost or quite touching base; this style did not recur in 1849. Both logotypes also occur on half dollars (wich see). No open 4 cent proofs are known. N-8, closed 4, claimed in Neil: 2110, is in the Calif. Specialist coll., and proved to be N-19, below.

- *N-19. Low date away from bust, fine line (base of an erroneously placed 1 ?) crosses upright of 1 slightly above base, base of second 8 double. Rev.: Die of 1844 B-8 (used also on coins dated 1845-6-7). Generally thought very rare, but the following enumeration will give a better idea: (1) Smithsonian, from Mint proof set. (2) Newcomb II: 745, Phila. Estate. (3) Philadelphia Estate, ex Davis-Graves: 176l. (4) F. C. C. Boyd -NN 51:1262. (5) "Dupont": 911, spotty. (6) "Dupont": 912, nicked below NT. (7) "Dupont" 913, cleaned, to a dealer. (8) Chapman, Carl Wiirzbach, V. Brand, H. C. Hines, W. H. Sheldon, Ernest Henderson, "Sheraton" offering, T. James Clarke: 345. (9) B. H. Collins - B. Max Mehl- T. J. Clarke: 346. (10) Morris ~ T. J. Clarke: 347. (11) An uncatalogued Clarke duplicate, seen at the time I was examining the auction lots. (12) Zug: 1127, Beckwith: 108, Morgan: 363, Mehl. (13) Calif. Specialist, ex Neil:2110 as "A-8." And I have excellent reason to believe that this enumeration is far from complete. The Mougey sale contained three (lots 252-254), the last "bronzed".