Finest Known 1803 Draped Bust Half Dollar
Tompkins 1 (Dies 1-C), Overton 101 : Large 3 obverse. Reverse with small stars and twelve arrows.
Since its first modern appearance in the legendary collection of Louis E. Eliasberg Sr., this has been recognized as the finest surviving 1803 Draped Bust Half Dollar, regardless of die marriage. Exhibiting unquestionably original luster and nearly perfect color, larger denomination Draped Bust coins are a rarity in this condition regardless of date and denomination, and even more so for an 1803 Half Dollar. The strike as as full as we can possibly expect for a Draped Bust Half Dollar, as the obverse stars are all nearly complete to their centers, and the reverse shield exhibits softness only near the extreme upper right corner of the shield, and the uppermost row of tailfeathers.
While traditionally catagorized as “Large 3” and “Small 3”, 1803 Draped Bust Half Dollars are known in four die pairs and each could be considered to be a separate major variety as follows:
- Tompkins 1, Overton 101 : Large 3, Small Stars Reverse, 12 Arrows
- Tompkins 2, Overton 102 : Large 3, Small Stars Reverse, 13 Arrows
- Tompkins 3, Overton 103 : Large 3, Large Stars Reverse, 13 Arrows
- Tompkins 4, Overton 104 : Small 3, Large Stars Reverse, 13 Arrows
Understandably, as there is only one “Small 3” Obverse, T.4/O.104 gets a little bit of exaggerated attention.
After the Eliasberg 1803 Tompkins 1, Overton 101 PCGS/CAC MS64, the next best 1803 “Large 3” Half Dollars are the Queller T.3/O.103 PCGS/CAC MS63+ #12124144, last sold by Stacks-Bowers 9/2025:3064 at $120,000, and the Hain-Pogue T.1/O.101 PCGS/CAC MS63 #21085076 last sold by Stacks-Bowers 5/2015:1107 at $76,375, then Legend Auctions 9/2021:16 at $85,188, and now in the D.L. Hansen Collection as CACG MS63 #105348247. There are no known examples of T.2/O.102 in any Mint State grade. The finest 1803 T.4/O.104 “Small 3” Half Dollars are the Hawn-Pogue PCGS MS64 #05404659, last sold by Stack-Bowers 5/2015:1108 at $188,000 and currently in the D.L. Hansen Collection, followed by the PCGS/CAC MS62 #50145226 formerly in the Queller and Gardner collections, and last sold by Stacks-Bowers 9/2025:3065 at $72,000.
PCGS #07997173
Provenance
Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; Bowers and Merena, April 1997, lot 1678 at $57,200 as “Finest Known, MS-63/65”; American Numismatic Rarities, August 2006, lot 559 at $115,000 to Joe O’Connor (OCNUMIS) as PCGS MS63 #06120429; recertified by PCGS as MS64 #07997173; later to the Jim O’Neal Collection; Heritage Auctions, January 2023, lot 3704 at $186,000 to Joe O’Connor (OCNUMIS)