 1892'O' Micro 'O'. A very pleasing, entirely original Choice Brilliant Uncirculated example. Rich mint frost is wonderfully augmented by shades of lavender, gold, and subtle olive toning. The strike is quite sharp, and the reverse offers a trace of reflectivity in the fields. Very rare in any grade, and extremely rare at or above the condition offered here. In fact, there are in all likelihood no more than 8-10 examples of this variety in all Mint State grade levels. The outstanding coin offered here, therefore, is not only of the utmost importance to collectors of Barber Half Dollars, it is also a candidate for the condition census!
Ex Auction '81 (Superior, July 23, 1981, lot 755).
This variety is the result of a mint employee erroneously using a mintmark punch intended for a quarter dollar during the production of this die. Perhaps this lone die was quickly pulled from service as the expected die life and survival rate for such a coin does not seem to be consistent with the ridiculously puny number of known survivors. It is also curious to note that of the 30 or so known survivors, approximately one third are fully Mint State; a percentage which seems far too high considering the average grade of the typical Barber Half Dollar. All of this aside, the rarity of this variety has certainly stood up against the test of time as it was first reported to numismatists by Augustus G. Heaton in 1893 in his groundbreaking Treatise on Mint Marks.
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