Roar Of The Big Cat MS-64 CAC

Stunning coin!

Beautiful coin CC ... indeed one of my personal visual favorites in the classic silver series ... and as you stated ... this is the highest relief design of any classic silver commemorative half dollar.

The downside of the high relief design is that the obverse and reverse portraits were especially subject to bag marks and handling nicks ... so any properly graded MS64 example today without those distractions is a special coin indeed ...

Your lovely PCGS MS64/CAC example certainly achieves the goal of beauty combined with rarity ... and well struck as well based on what I can see by the photos (Strike quality is not generally an issue with this coin).

Lovely coin indeed

For fun ... I know CC knows all the following ... but for our newer commemorative fans ... some fun facts and connections about the images on the coin ...

The reverse of this great USA coin features an image of a catamount ... which is in fact a Canadian lynx related to the USA mountain lion.

Designer Charles Keck chose this subtle image in homage to the Catamount Tavern ... where history records that in early 1777 the Allen brothers Ethan and Iris met with their "Green Mountain Boys" to plot an insurgency against New York State claims to the lands now known as Vermont.

War with the British soon broke out ... and on August 16, 1777 the Green Mountain Boys ... supported by local militia ... defeated the British army at the Battle of Bennington.

The land dispute with New York was set aside ... and Vermont joined the Union in 1791.

Interesting that Ira Allen chose "Vermont" as the proposed State name ... this is the French language equivalent of "Green Mountain" ... and another connection to the history of the USA shown on this great commemorative.

Ira Allen died a pauper in Philadelphia in the year 1814 ... after spending 6 years in a British prison having been caught trying to return to Vermont in 1795 with a supply of arms purchased from France ... and despite his acknowledged contributions as 'Founder of Vermont" he was IMHO a tragic figure in USA history ... and only remembered by a few.

Geepers ... apologize if needed for the long reply ... hoping someone enjoys the added information to support CC great coin.

Thanks for sharing the coin CC ... looking forward to whatever else you have to share.

David

Edited for spllneging

it's midrange for a classic commemorative. Although I believe classic commemoratives are undervalued now, they do have a history of wild swings up and down. I don't want to say exactly what a coin like this is worth or would sell for, MikeBrax, but I will say, whenever getting into collecting something like this, it is important to do some research.