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1843 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. NGC graded Proof 64. Nice deep blue toning on both sides. Very rare. A landmark example of an early Proof seated Liberty half dollar straight from an original 1843 cased Proof set and described (in part) in the Pittman Collection sale catalog as "This piece is very sharply struck with a high wire rim and deep mirror fields. It has two edge nicks?The color is basically iridescent blue and gold with considerable russet toning mixed with violet, more vivid shades on the reverse than on the obverse. There is a die break that literally bisects the reverse?This crack is characteristic of Proof 1843 Half Dollars, i.e., all such Proofs were struck using this cracked reverse die. Furthermore, this is a Proof-only variety. This denomination is comparable in rarity to the other silver Proofs of 1843; only 6-8 examples are known, including two in the Pittman Collection." Pop 1; None finer at NGC. . According to Stack's (which offered this Pittman specimen in their January 2005 sale): "This reverse die was only used to coin the handful of Proofs and apparently discarded because of the die crack, as no circulation strikes have been found from this die pair. All known Proofs of 1843 display this die crack, so the die may have split during the annealing process or while coining the very first Proof coin. Several other 1843 Half Dollar circulation strikes are known that display a complex network of die cracks, as perhaps some of the die steel was improperly forged and prone to rapid deterioration and cracking that year. Few Proofs of any denomination boast such a dramatic die crack. Clearly the coiner choose the expedient path over replacing the cracked die with another highly polished and properly prepared reverse die, as the Proof coin order was undoubtedly tiny.".

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