There are some terrific varieties in the Seated Liberty half dollar series, including the 1847/6 half dollar, where the underdate, placed well below the 1847 date, is dramatic, with the curve of the 6 clearly visible.
The Arlington Collection’s example is graded MS-62 by Professional Coin Grading Service and it is listed as FS-301 in Cherrypickers’ Guide and WB-9 in the Wiley-Bugert series reference. Stack’s Bowers writes, “The die failed quickly or was replaced because of this blunder, despite considerable effacing by the coiner or engraver,” noting a light die crack at the base of the 1847 digits. Even the lower edge of the rocky base was tooled at the Mint.
It is one of three or four Mint State survivors, all similarly graded, and it has long enjoyed a listing in the “Red Book,” ensuring demand beyond series specialists. It sold for $30,000 in Stack’s Bowers’ March 26 auction, less than the $43,125 it brought, then-certified by NGC, at a 2013 Stack’s Bowers session.
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