2028

1847-O 50c Ungraded. PCGS Gold Foil S.S. Central America Label. Brunk P-563.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:1,650.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 USD and UP
1847-O 50c Ungraded. PCGS Gold Foil S.S. Central America Label. Brunk P-563.
SOLD
4,200.00USD+ (735.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2017 Sep 19 @ 17:04UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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VF for sharpness with consideration for the effects of sand and sea. Pale, silver, grey with even moderate corrosion that allows most of the details to remain bold. Counterstamped horizontally but inverted on the obverse. Bright silver throughout with some deeper areas on both sides. Almost certainly a piece of pocket change with an important story to tell; maybe the next owner will get it to give up its tale.
This half dollar and an 1855-S $20 are the only Polhemus counter marks found aboard the Ship of Gold(S.S. Central America). Only one other counter mark appeared among the S.S. Central America treasure, a gold piece marked by dentist and assayer W.W. Light (similar to our next lot).
J. L. Polhemus counterstamps on U.S. coins have long been known and he is the most famous Sacramento gold rush counter stamp. Virtually every denomination of pocket change was stamped by Polhemus for use as money and doubling as a store card in the 1850s. The Polhemus counterstamped minor coinage pieces are still found today every now and then by token hunters and metal detector enthusiasts. The tie of this Polhemus counterstamp to the SS Central America is exceptionally important. Polhemus started his drug store near the Magnolia Saloon in August 1850. By the end of that year the drug store was more conveniently located on the main street, which was “J” Street. Polhemus died in 1866 but his wife continued to run the store in to the 1870’s until selling to a third party. The Polhemus- Central America counterstamp was the only minor change with the Polhemus punch found on the S.S. Central America. Today there are perhaps a dozen known quarters and perhaps an equal number of dimes known with the Polhemus counterstamp. There are far few larger denomination coins.
This intriguing shipwreck treasure brought $11,750 in our HKA 8/20/13:984 sale.