1795 $5 BD-3, Small Eagle MS (PCGS#519852)
August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 1256
- 等级
- AU55
- 价格
- 350,131
- 详细说明
- Desirable Choice AU 1795 Small Eagle $5
Historic First Year of Issue
1795 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. Small Eagle. BD-3. Rarity-3+. AU-55 (PCGS).
This is a scarce Choice AU quality example of the 1795 Small Eagle $5, a popular and eagerly sought issue in the Capped Bust Right series. Considerable reflectivity remains in the fields, starkly contrasting with the satiny design elements. The strike is impressive for an early U.S. Mint coin, and both sides are ideally centered on the planchet with only trivial softness near the rims in select areas. The eagle's eye is discernible, however, a feature that is often absent even on Uncirculated survivors of this type. An ancient pinscratch to the right of star 1 provides a pedigree marker for tracing this piece through future cabinets. Just two have been certified finer by PCGS in this category.
The first gold coin struck for the United States of America is the 1795 Small Eagle half eagle, 8,707 examples of which were delivered that year. Based on the number of coins extant, it is highly likely that additional examples of this issue were struck in 1796. Indeed, John W. Dannreuther (Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834, 2006) estimates that the mintage for the 1795 Small Eagle may be as high as 12,106 pieces. The most plentiful of the 12 known die marriages is BD-3, offered here, with an estimated mintage of 2,000 to 3,000 coins. This is a small total when viewed in the wider context of U.S. coinage, and like all pre-1834 quarter eagles, half eagles and eagles, the 1795 Small Eagle $5 suffered a high rate of attrition through commercial use and melting. It is an indication of the rarity of both the type and issue that the BD-3 variety, with only 175 to 225 coins believed extant (again per Dannreuther) is the most readily obtainable die marriage of the date. The present example is sure to find its way into an advanced type set or dedicated early half eagle collection.
Provenance: From the Anthony J. Taraszka Collection.
PCGS Population (BD-3 variety only): 1; 2 finer.
PCGS# 519852.
Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.
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