Owner Comments:
The Louisiana Purchase Half Eagles are very special. The set starts off with the 1840 date and its several interesting varieties.
This specimen is the Pittman coin, Narrow Mill, Winter Variety #2. Other pedigrees of this coin include King Farouk, Col Green and, most recently, Pinnacle Collection, from whence it came. It is the plate coin for Winter's 2006 reference, page 85. (I haven't figured out yet how to add images to the web site so you will have to see it there).
It is listed as the Finest Known in the Doug Winter census list of 2006 and is the only coin graded MS63 or above by PCGS. NGC has two graded MS63 and one MS65, but are listed lower in Winter's census. This coin also set the auction record for the date in 1997 (at $41,250) when it was handled by David Akers.
Obviously, it is not only a highlight of the Louisiana Purchase, but "one of the most signfican New Orleans half eagles in existence", according to Winter. It is also on his runner up list of 10 favorite New Orleans coins.
As a Narrow Mill Variety (more common than the extremely rare Broad Mill variety, or as NGC calls it, Large Diameter) this coin is a remarkably original example with vivid spalashes of original medium orange gold and greenish hues atop very frosty surfaces. Unlike most examples of this date, this piece is very well produced and shows nearly full definition at the centers. There are a few small mint made spots on the upper obverse between stars 8 and 9 (behind the bun) which do not detract. The reverse is rotated about 30 degrees off the obverse and has no spots to speak of. The Pinnacle Coin owner (who of course was a great connoisseur of New Orleans gold coinage) said of this coin, "Superb color luster and eye appeal make this a memorable coin."
That is one of the great things about collecting coins like this: they have a rich, documented history. Let us continue to build on these histories while ensure that these coins remain original!