Heritage’s July 15 Auriah Rayne Collection U.S. Coins Showcase Auction included nearly 200 classic-era commemorative coins that offered some top-graded examples of familiar and less-familiar issues.

The 1935 Old Spanish Trail half dollar is one of the less-frequently encountered half dollars in the series, which ran from 1892 to 1954. It celebrates the 400th anniversary of the journey in 1535 of the Cabeza de Vaca Expedition from Florida to Texas –— as mapped out on the reverse’s design. The “anniversary” is a bit loosely defined, as the expedition began in 1528 and ended in 1536. The explorer’s name is translated to “head of a cow,” explaining the obverse design.

It has a low mintage of 10,008 strikes and the broad fields on both sides are unforgiving to spare marks. Heritage’s offering of one graded Mint State 68 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. is one of the finest, and it realized $8,400.

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