1853-O Half Dollar only 3 known

I was following an auction on Saturday and this very worn out coin came up and it said that it was very rare since there were only supposed to be 3 known specimens. It was an 1853-O U.S. Half Dollar. By the time I clicked to bid online it had just sold for $150.00

Question: If a coin is this worn out is it still worth a premium based on rarity ?

 

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Heck yeah!! ...if it's genuine. I don't know enough about that series of half dollars to offer an opinion...other than the reverse suggests it is the "no arrows" variety. I would be really amazed if a genuine 1853-O "No Arrows" sold for $150...in ANY condition...plugged, waffled, you name it!

 

Please click on the link below to view this item.1853-O Super Rare Half Dollar
Only 3 Known of this coin. SUPER RARE!

For more auctions visit: www.proxibid.com

 

My guess is you saved yourself $150.

 

Well real ones sell for $240,000 and up and are auctioned in Houses like Stacks, etc.. where the last one sold for $368,000 in VF35. For $150, do you think the buyer or the seller was the one that got shafted?

 

It can be a 2053 for all I care.

It is a real coin, however, not a 1853-O

 

That is one slick half. That worn with the right light and a good imagination it might be any date you want it to be. I like how the yellow #8 sticker sits right over where someone might like to get a good look at the date.

 

The slab clearly states $135K...why wasn't that the starting price??

 

I hear you chip. Unless I'm missing something, I couldn't tell if it were an 1853 or something else. I think whoever bought it got shafted. How convenient that the sticker covers the last part of the date.

Bruce

 

Rare+

This will help everyone on the 1853 No Ray No Arrows seated half.it about 3/4 of the way down the page.



http://www.pcgs.com/prices/PriceGui...1&SP=1&c=121&title=Liberty+Seated+Half+Dollar

 

It's actually 1/4 page down as the 1853-O and collaborates my earlier post on value.

 

As for coinc with only 3 known, isn't it pretty well known in the coin community through documentation, when and where those coins sold? I would imagine there would be pics online to compare if there are only 3, though I could be quite wrong.

 

I think the Seller is suggesting that his/her coin is #4...and would rather some nice auction person get it rather than some mean old dealer.

 

Yes, but there is always the possibility that a fourth one may appear. Case in point was the 1873 CC no arrows and rays quarter. For nearly a century there were only four known pieces and it was a well established "fact" that there were only four of them. Then one day at a show a "little old lady" came up to Larry Briggs table with a coin she wanted to ask about. The fifth known specimen. All three of the 1853-O no arrows halves are well worn, so why couldn't there be a fourth one?

 

Ok. Got it. I seldom think in terms of "another one possibly out there" when it comes to such rare coins.

 

Absolutely there could...but when was the last time you saw a "geuine" $135,000 coin (marked as such) in a beat up 2x2 for sale on the internet?

 

So my initial question when I started this thread was: Could a coin that is worn so flat still be considered valuable simply because of it's rarity ?

 

without a doubt

 

However, chances are it's simply an 1852, 1851, 1850, ..., or an 1840 with the date worn off.

In other words, I see nothing (outside the description written on the 2x2) to suggest it is in fact an 1853-o w/o arrows, and the odds are overwhelming against it.

 

I'm sorry, I thought I offered a definitive answer to your question in Post #2...please let me try again:

A coin's value is determined by the desire of others to own it. I believe there is a significant number of collectors that would compete to own a genuine 1853-O "No Arrows, No Rays" Seated Liberty Half Dollar...even in a "worn flat" condition..."simply because of it's rarity".