1797 $10 Small Eagle MS(PCGS#8555)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1272

等级

MS62

价格

2,084,113

详细说明

Rare High-Grade 1797 Small Eagle $10 High Condition Census 1797 Capped Bust Right Eagle. Small Eagle. BD-1, Taraszka-7. Rarity-5. MS-62 (NGC). Mostly light yellow gold surfaces with just a faint trace of soft honey toning on both sides. Satiny and pleasantly lustrous on the motifs, while the fields glitter with light prooflike character that adds considerably to the overall eye appeal and serves to accentuate the designs. A few small scattered marks and faint handling lines, the only one worthy of mention being on the reverse beneath the eagle's left wing. These are not to be confused with several small natural lint marks which are not uncommon on the early eagles. Fairly well struck for this issue which often comes very softly defined though the center. Though not fully developed, the outlines and curvature of Liberty's mouth are visible and far superior to the other example we have seen in this grade. This coin is easily at the top end of the Condition Census for all survivors. Only a single coin is graded finer by either major grading service, a lone NGC MS-63. That coin exhibits similar sharpness to this one and seems to have a similar appearance overall except for a series of aggressive adjustment marks through the portrait. There are no adjustment marks on this piece, and as such it will appeal to many collectors far more than the higher graded one. PCGS has graded no examples higher than MS-61, while the NGC records show three at this level. Notwithstanding, the auction records over the last quarter of a century show only two different coins in this grade, raising the possibility that one of the listed NGC-62 coins is a duplicate record for the same coin. This is clearly the finer of the two coins we have seen in this grade, the other being flatly struck at the central obverse. It is also noteworthy that the superb specialized collection of Anthony Taraszka, sold in our 2019 ANA sale, graded only AU-55. The mintage for the 1797 Small Eagle provided in most numismatic references is 3,615 coins, based on Walter Breen's (Encyclopedia, 1988) assertion that the 3,615 eagles delivered from March 25 through May 2, 1797, were of this issue. Based on a more exhaustive study of die states and emission sequences, as well as modern estimates on the number of coins extant, John W. Dannreuther (2006) provides an estimated mintage of 1,250 to 3,615 coins for the 1797 Small Eagle. Indeed, we now know that some 1796-dated coins were struck after the 1797 Small Eagle pieces, and were perhaps included among the 3,615 eagles delivered between Mar 25 and May 2. In any case, the 1797 is the rarest date of this type, and just this one die marriage was used in producing the entire mintage. This example offers not only nice condition, but a great provenance as well, back to our own 1955 Farish Baldenhofer sale. Since then, it appeared in the important holdings of John Beck and Harry W. Bass, Jr., and others. Provenance: From Our (Stack's) sale of the Farish Baldenhofer Collection, November 1955, Lot 1431; Abner Kreisberg's sale of the John A. Beck Collection, January 1975, Lot 486; our (Bowers and Merena) sale of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II, October 1999, Lot 1304; Heritage's sale of July 2003, Lot 10411 (at $184,000); our (ANR) Sale of the Franklinton Collection, August 2006, lot 1527 at $276,000 plus a 5% agent fee to the buyer for a total cost of $289,800. NGC Census: 3; 1 finer (MS-63). PCGS# 8555. NGC ID: BFYN. Click here for certification details from NGC.