| In 2011, at a celebration of the 25th anniversary of PCGS, a couple of examples of the very first coins graded by PCGS were displayed by the company. These first coins graded by PCGS in 1986 were encapsulated in the so-called “rattler” style holder, but instead of the light green colored label collectors are familiar with today, these very first coins were graded with a white label. Even among those first coins encapsulated with the white label, the earliest graded examples have slightly different labels printed on a printer with less resolution. The text of the earlier version of the white label rattler have characters which are 7 dots in height, while the later labels and the regular green label rattlers have characters which are 9 dots in height. This 1909 Indian $5 Gold Half Eagle has been graded MS63 by PCGS and is encapsulated in the early white label version of the first-generation PCGS rattler holder from the very start of PCGS in 1986. This is a beautiful example of the $5 Indian Half Eagle. The coin is free of significant marks, hits or other issues and appears to be a very strong example of the grade. The piece also exhibits subtle toning which does not show in the photos, but in hand under good lighting and magnification the toning shows well and it is quite appealing. The holder itself is in excellent condition and is certainly better than what is typically seen with holders of this age. I have included comparison photos of this early white label PCGS rattler next to a standard green label PCGS rattler holder for comparison and to clearly show the differences. A rare opportunity to obtain one of the very first coins certified by PCGS and a really nice Indian $5 Half Eagle too. |
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