1795 $5 BD-15, Large Eagle MS(PCGS#519869)

March 2018 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

10326

等级

MS62

价格

1,139,941

详细说明

Rarely Offered 1795 Heraldic Eagle Five BD-15 Variety Gorgeous PCGS/CAC MS-62 1795 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. Heraldic Eagle. BD-15. Rarity-5+. MS-62 (PCGS). CAC. The pretty medium gold surfaces of this Mint State half eagle display a fully prooflike finish. The bright and reflective fields form a splendid backdrop for smartly impressed, razor-sharp devices. This is a very well produced and preserved example of a challenging early half eagle issue that ranks high on the list of rarities in the remarkable Vanderbilt Collection. The Mint introduced the Heraldic Eagle reverse to the half eagle series in mid 1797 during a chaotic time in the institution's history. The yearly yellow fever epidemics continued to sweep through Philadelphia, turning the city into a virtual ghost town and causing interruptions in coinage operations as the Mint was forced to temporarily close its doors. When production resumed the half eagle had pride of place, for it was the most popular denomination with gold bullion depositors during the 1790s and well into the 19th century. Eager to make up for lost time and chronically short of high quality steel for making dies, Mint employees grabbed whatever dies were on hand to churn out as many half eagles as could be made. In so doing it created some of the most interesting and rarest varieties in the Capped Bust Right half eagle series. Although the total mintage for this type is far greater than for its Small Eagle predecessor, the first year of Heraldic Eagle production resulted in some of the rarest die varieties among early half eagles. In fact, two of the three 1797 Heraldic Eagle die marriages -- BD-5, 16-Star Obverse and BD-6, 15-Star Reverse -- are unique and permanently impounded in the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection. There are also three known die marriages of the 1795 Heraldic Eagle issue, all examples of which were likely produced in 1797 (or, less likely, in 1798) using leftover obverse dies from 1795. One of these 1795 Heraldic Eagle varieties, BD-13, is unique and represented by only the F.C.C. Boyd-World's Greatest Collection specimen. BD-14 is very rare with fewer than 20 examples believed extant in all grades. BD-15, offered here, is the most available die marriage of the 1795 Heraldic Eagle five but, with only 30 to 35 coins known (per John W. Dannreuther, 2006), it is still very scarce to rare when viewed in the wider context of U.S. numismatics. The obverse of the 1795 BD-15 half eagle is the same as that used by the Mint to strike Small Eagle examples of the BD-11 variety. The reverse is shared by the unique 1797 BD-5, 16-Star Obverse mentioned above. Provenance: From the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) Grant Pierce & Sons Collection sale, May 1965, lot 1279. Lot tag included. PCGS Population (all die marriages of the issue): 7; 5 finer (MS-64 finest). PCGS# 8075. NGC ID: 25NK. Click here for certification details from PCGS.