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1834 O.122 (Rarity-7+). Crushed Lettered Edge, Restrike
From Stack's October 2006 New York Auction, Session 1 on Oct 17, 2006
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 1834 O.122 (Rarity-7+). Crushed Lettered Edge, Restrike. Very Choice Brilliant Proof, and a virtual Gem. Likely the Finest Known for this rare Proof only variety. Toned with regal blue and rose on both sides, and well matched, with intensity seldom seen on any Bust Half Dollar of the period. The obverse is a touch lighter with rose-gold dominating the fields, while the edge and date show splashes of blue. The reverse fields and rims are bathed in intense orange-gold and red with russet the primary shade. Curiously, the strike is slightly weak on the claws and branch end at the base of the reverse. For identification there are a couple of minor nicks between Liberty's nose in the field closer to the fourth star.
Examination of this fantastic coin will soon discover the curious edge lettering feature, which is crushed by the intense forces of multiple strikings of the coin while squeezed into a closed collar. Apparently the edge was lettered prior to striking, and in this case ''ORHALF'' run together with the ''RH'' nearly touching.
One of perhaps five known of this die pairing, all apparently struck in Proof format, although one entered circulation long enough to reach the Extremely Fine grade level. One of these is held in the Smithsonian Institution, while the other four are in private hands, each of which we have sold at some time in the past. The present coin is finer than the Starr-Brand-Lichtenfels coin and is thus the best of the four known in private hands, with the Pittman-1949 ANA coin showing more evidence of handling and the Logan-1983 ANA coin being a circulated or mishandled example. An extraordinary opportunity for the advanced specialist to obtain an extremely rare and desirable piece of numismatic American history.
According to an article by the late Russell J. Logan in The John Reich Journal in Volume 5, Number 3 of December 1990, all Crushed Lettered Edge Proof Half Dollars were apparently struck in 1836 with supporting evidence from the use of a common edge die used to coin other Capped Bust Half Dollars in 1836. Furthermore all known examples of these Crushed Lettered Edge Half Dollars from 1833 to 1835 use the same reverse die, that from the 1836 O.106 die marriage. This reverse die is unique because Engraver William Kneass employed small beads instead of denticles around the rim, with a flat edge at the extreme rim. No other reverse die in the entire series employs edge beads.
The beads were employed instead of denticles to accommodate a new style of collar, being researched by John Danreuther, Brad Karoleff and others. This new collar required dies to have a sunken lip around the edge, which allowed struck coins to have a uniform raised rim instead of denticles at the edge. The denticles were replaced with beads inside the raised rim. Coins struck using this new collar were more perfectly round, with the devices protected by the higher, solid rim around each side of the coin.
One other coin also exhibits a Crushed Lettered Edge, that being a Proof 1836 Half Dollar last offered in our Davis-Graves Collection in 1954 where it realized $60, a price multiples of a typical Uncirculated specimen of this date. No plate is known of this coin and its whereabouts remain a numismatic mystery. This reverse die went on to coin regular circulation strikes after the Crushed Lettered Edge Proofs were struck and eventually failed by cracking through the denomination, confirming that the Crushed Lettered Edge Proofs were coined first, before the circulation strikes of 1836 O.106 were struck.
The Condition Census for the known examples of the O.122 Crushed Lettered Edge Half Dollars is as follows:
1) Very Choice Brilliant Proof. The Present Specimen. Ex Stack's Auction, November 1994, lot 887 at $37,950; Lester Merkin; C. A. Cass 'Empire' Collection (Stack's, November 1957, lot 1338 at $225); R. T. McPherson (Stack's, February 1953, lot 887); The Dr. C. A. Allenburger Sale (B. Max Mehl, 1948, lot 904).
2) Choice Proof. Identifiable by a toning streak above Liberty's mouth, a small speck at the point of upper most arrow. Ex: Floyd Starr Collection (Stack's, October 1992, lot 542); Brand-Lichtenfels Collections (Kreisberg and Schulman, March 1964, lot 1311).
3) Proof. National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution.
4) Proof. Identifiable by small nick under the eagle's beak, cleaned and retoned with mottled russet and blue-green toning. John J. Pittman Collection, Part II (David Akers, May 1998, lot 1506); 1949 ANA Sale, lot 1487; Ohio Collector. The plate coin from Breen's Proof Encyclopedia.
5) Mishandled Proof, Extremely Fine. Ex Bowers and Ruddy's Rare Coin Review #43, April 1982; The 1983 ANA Sale (Kagin's, August 1983, lot 2477); The Russell J. Logan Collection (Bowers and Merena, November 2002, lot 2741).
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