BOOK REVIEW: THE 1822 GOLD HALF EAGLE

For his treatment of the Pogue Collection, Bowers lets the coins speak for themselves. And boy, do they.

The 1822 half eagle gets full court press as the sole subject of Bowers’ ... book. It’s as rare a U.S. coin as they come. Out of the reported mintage of 17,795, only three genuine specimens have ever materialized.

For more than a century and a half, one has served as the centerpiece of the United States Mint’s Mint Cabinet and one is in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection. The second was gifted to the Smithsonian in 1967 by the estate of collector Josiah K. Lilly in exchange for tax relief from the United States Congress. At the time, the Lilly collection–including the 1822 half eagle–was valued at $5,534,808.

The Pogue Specimen traces its pedigree back to the 19th century numismatic sale of the collection of Hiram E. Deats. The cataloger, Edouard Frossard, offered no explanation as to the origins of the coin and Deats’ cabinet contained no other major rarities. For whatever reason, the lot wasn’t allowed to sell and later showed up in the collection of Mauritius David. From there, the list of owners is short and legendary: Brand, Eliasberg, Pogue.

Although the practice of writing monographs has more or less fallen by the wayside over the years, Bowers’ treatment of the 1822 reads like one.

Using the best available information, it describes the minting of the issue in detail and follows the chain of custody for the three known examples through the 19th and 20th centuries. It’s important to note that no 1822 half eagle has changed hands since the Eliasberg Sale in 1982.

Which is why, in our opinion, the 1822 is in many respects undervalued. Perhaps not in dollars–some estimate the coin will fetch more than $10 million, others we’ve spoken to suggest $7 or $8 million–but in the consciousness of the collecting public.

For this we have a theory. The 1822 is not a controversial coin. It wasn’t illegal to own for 70 years like the 1933 Saint. It was not, so far as anybody knows, restruck surreptitiously by employees of the U.S. Mint to capitalize on the small but very real coin collecting craze of the mid-19th century, like the novodel 1804 dollar.

Furthermore, there has never been an effort to “mainstream” the coin by publishing sensationalistic tales about it or overly hyping it up. It is, as it’s always been, a great rarity meant to be enjoyed by the select few.

It’s been 35 years since the last opportunity came up. It’ll take millions of dollars more to lock it away again.

To read the complete article, see:
First Read: The 1822 Gold Half Eagle: Story of a Rarity and Treasures from the D. Brent Pogue Rare Coin Cabinet: A National Legacy (www.coinweek.com/education/first-read-the-1822-gold-half-eagle-story-of-a-rarity-and-treasures-from-the-d-brent-pogue-rare-coin-cabinet-a-national-legacy/)

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