1/2 Dollar (sold for $8750.0)

1/2 Dollar USA (1776 - ) Silver James Cook

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1928 Hawaiian Half Dollar. PCGS graded MS-66. Delicate rainbow toning graces the reverse surface. Worthy of a premium bid. Housed in an Old Green Holder. Only 9,958 struck, plus 50 Sandblast Proofs. A satiny gem with engaging satin luster (the nature of the surface on this particular issue precludes a "cartwheel" like effect) and light rainbow pastels on the reverse that seem to want to hypnotize bidders to increase their bids as though by subtle whispers in the ear! Nicely struck, as always, and unlike those which have the usual scuffs and small hairlines of handling by an unappreciative public, this exemplary coin is several steps above. There were three commemorative half dollars in the Classic Series that each had a distribution of 10,000: The 1928 Hawaiian, the 1935 Spanish Trail, and the 1935 Hudson. However, today the Hawaiian is several times rarer than either of the other two in grades such as MS65 and MS66. The reason is that the Hawaiian pieces were true commemoratives, made for the residents of those islands, and mostly distributed there. The buyers, who tended not to be numismatists, took no particular care in their handling, with the result that today many of the pieces sold in the islands show signs of polishing or light wear. Gems at the MS66 level, which we offer here, were rare to begin with, since the coins were minted on a high speed production press, with no special care given at all given to handling them with kid gloves. They were run through a counting machine and bagged, then shipped. Likely, anyone in Hawaii when the bags arrived would find that a typical mix of grades would have been MS62 to MS64 by today's standards. However, now and then a few gems escaped the jostling, yielding coins such as offered here. Subscriptions at $2 each were also invited from numismatists, and several thousand were sold to buyers on the mainland. In 1928 commemoratives were not a hot topic in collecting circles, and there was no mad rush to buy them. However, it was soon learned that the supply was exhausted, and the price rose naturally (not speculatively) soon thereafter. By the time of the 1935-1936 commemorative boom, this was a key issue, right along with the even rarer 1922 Grant With Star. Pop 83; 8 finer, 6 in 66+, 2 in 67+. (PCGS # 9309) Estimated Value $7,000 - 8,000 Categories: Commemorative Silver Coins

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