 1821 O.101a. Very Choice Brilliant Uncirculated, virtually a Gem. An extraordinary coin that shows deep reflectivity in the fields, enough so that our consignor (and no doubt the dealer who sold the coin) believed it to be a Proof. There are some small areas in the fields near Liberty's chin and the eagle's head which are frosty instead of reflective, and hence we question its Proof status. Nevertheless, this is a magnificent coin that displays delicate gold and russet peripheral toning, with the obverse center bright and untoned, while the reverse is toned with matching gold and russet. The strike is quite sharp on both sides, although minor weakness is found on the eagle's claws. For identification purposes there is a trivial diagonal scratch on the horizontal shield lines and some faint hairlines in the fields. Well worth a premium for the exceptional eye appeal and probably one of the top two or three known of this die pairing.
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