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The E-Sylum:  Volume 4, Number 41, October 7, 2001, Article 10

HIRAM DEATS AND THE 1822 HALF EAGLE    

  Karl Moulton writes; "Hiram Deats' "act of conspicuous   
  excess" in 1892 which lead him to the forefront of American   
  philately was not unplanned.  Deats had purchased many   
  nice coins the previous 12-15 years.  Among his numismatic   
  treasures was an example of the 1822 half eagle, which was   
  sold June 9, 1892, in a sale catalogued by Edouard Frossard.   
  This provided Deats with the funds necessary to acquire the   
  P.M. Wolsieffer philatelic material in October that year.    

  The earliest provenance of these truly rare coins (3 known)   
  has never been presented in any printed numismatic publication.   
  Based on my research, I believe an example of this coin was   
  sold privately by W.E. Woodward to Deats in early 1883,   
  after Woodward ended up with all of the Joseph J. Mickley/   
  William S. Appleton U.S. Gold coins, which Appleton had   
  received for financing the purchase of the Mickley collection   
  in April 1867.    

  I further believe Mickley owned two examples.  Both of these   
  1822 half eagles were off the market completely until 1883.   
  One quietly went to Deats, and one went to coin dealer H.P.   
  Smith, who made up a promotional story the following year   
  about obtaining it for $6 from an unnamed broker on the corner   
  of Ann and Nassau streets in New York city.   The third   
  genuine piece was in the Mint cabinet, while a fourth counterfeit   
  example was then owned by Lorin Parmelee, who had obtained   
  it when he purchased the George Seavey collection.   

  When Mickley's collection of U.S. gold was acquired by   
  Appleton in 1867,  there was no general awareness that the   
  date was considered rare.  This can be confirmed by   
  correspondence to Baltimore collector T. Harrison Garrett   
  in December 1884 from Philadelphia attorney Harold Newlin   
  discussing this date (ref. History of United States Coinage   
  by Bowers, p.451).    

  Although the 1822 half eagle was listed as being "Very Rare"   
  in Joseph Mickley's 1858 publication "Dates of United States   
  Coins and their Degrees of Rarity", it appears this date was   
  overlooked by Woodward when he sold it to Deats by private   
  treaty.  This brings up the question of just how well Mickley's   
  pioneering pamphlet circulated among the early coin collectors.   
  Based on the fact that Woodward did not think highly of this   
  date, it is possible he never read Mickley's publication when   
  it came out; after all, he was not even in the coin business until   
  two years later.  From all other indicators, no one else active   
  in American numismatics at the time was aware of the extreme   
  rarity either.  Of course, this same thing happened as late as   
  1955 when the unique 16 star Heraldic Eagle 1797 Half Eagle   
  was sold in the Farish Baldenhofer sale.    

  For whatever it may be worth, the Mickley legacy to   
  American numismatics should include the ownership of an   
  outstanding U.S. Gold coin collection.  This has been too long   
  overlooked by nearly all numismatists as there were no such   
  pieces listed in the October 1867 Mickley sale when it was   
  catalogued by Woodward.  Since Mickley knew of the high   
  rarity of this date in 1858, I suggest that Joseph Mickley should   
  be listed as the first person in the pedigree lineages.  He would   
  have been the only one to accurately know about the 1822   
  half eagles at the time, based solely on his ownership, since   
  none had ever appeared at auction or had been listed   
  anywhere, at any time, by anyone else."   

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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