Below is the third of three posts from our own Steve Roach on rare coins that spike collector's interest, despite their errors:

Indian Head $5 half eagles led Heritage’s Dec. 3 to 6 auctions held in conjunction with the Houston Money Show. The top lot of the sale was Leon Hendrickson’s 1915-S Indian Head $5 half eagle graded Mint State 64 by Professional Coin Grading Service with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker that brought $94,000. The total for the auction exceeded $8 million and it’s Heritage’s last major coin auction of 2015, as the firm preps for its massive Florida United Numismatists auction in January 2016. Here are three coins with some problems that sold, each with its unique charms. 

The Coin:
1801 Draped Bust silver dollar, holed and plugged, 

The Price:
$646.25

The Story:
When a coin has a hole in it and that hole is repaired or plugged, the quality of that repair can vary greatly. Some — like the aforementioned 1793 Flowing Hair, Wreath cent — are repaired adequately with some sense of returning the coin to a normal appearance. Other repairs are more perfunctory, as seen on this 1801 Draped Bust dollar graded PCGS Genuine, Holed and/or Plugged.

It has details consistent with a solid Very Fine coin (although neither the grade nor the description provides a details grade) and the surfaces are generally a pleasing color. However, the plug before the L in LIBERTY relative to the obverse does not match the coin and is crude. The sloppy repair creates an entry-level early dollar for a collector and it sold for $646.26.