NNP

1871 P50C Seated Liberty Half, Judd-1116, Pollock-1252, R.8 PR67 Cameo NGC. CAC. Design. A Seated Liberty faces left, wearing an Indian princess headdress and a flowing robe. Her left hand rests atop a globe wrapped with a scroll bearing the word LIBERTY in raised letters, while holding a Liberty pole and cap in her right hand. Two flags, one bearing 13 stars, are in the background, with the date 1871 in exergue. Thirteen stars fill the periphery. A regular half dollar reverse die was used to produce Judd-1116. Struck in aluminum with a reeded edge. Commentary. Andrew Pollock rated this pattern variety as R.7 in his reference, although it is clearly R.8 with only two or three examples known. Only one piece is recorded in Pollock's census, and we handled that example in January 2004. That coin is PR66 PCGS and the only one that grading service has seen. NGC has certified the Newman example; the other one they graded is PR66 Cameo. The population data suggests that three examples exist today. Physical Description. Both sides show faint evidence of a double strike on this Superb Gem Cameo proof. Some natural flakes and rifts appear in the light gray surfaces as struck. The fields are deeply mirrored and provide a wonderful background for the lustrous devices of this gorgeous piece. It is virtually as struck, an amazing example and certainly the finest of just two or three known specimens. From The Eric P. Newman Collection.

From Newman I (Heritage Auctions, 4/2013), lot 3996, realized $25850.00. Image and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions, https://ha.com.