1803 $10 Extra Star Reverse MS (PCGS#88565)
August 2023 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 5154
- 等级
- AU58
- 价格
- 227,190
- 详细说明
- Choice AU 1803 Capped Bust Right Eagle
Popular Extra Star Variety
1803 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-5, Taraszka-30. Rarity-4+. Large Reverse Stars, Extra Star. AU-58 (PCGS).
This bright golden-honey example retains appreciable mint finish in a frosty texture. The strike is universally bold to sharp, and the moderately marked surfaces reveal no singularly mentionable blemishes. A couple of adjustment marks (as made) near the end of Liberty's bust are so faint that one will need a loupe and determination to discern them. BD Die State g/b.
Due to the extra star feature, the 1803 BD-5 is one of the most readily attributable and eagerly sought varieties in the entire Capped Bust Right eagle series of 1795 to 1804. Although this die marriage had been confirmed prior to that time, Harry W. Bass, Jr. appears to have been the first numismatist to notice the extra star feature on the reverse when he acquired an example in 1966. This discovery was the catalyst that launched Harry into his career of die studies of gold coins from 1796 to 1834. The extra star is much smaller than those used in the primary obverse and reverse designs, so it seems likely to some observers that it was added to the reverse intentionally by a Mint employee as a way to identify this die. This is only a theory, however, and as Dannreuther so eloquently puts it, "This is another early gold mystery that defies explanation."
With 90 to 110 coins believed extant, BD-5 ranks behind only BD-3 as the second most frequently encountered die marriage of the 1803 eagle. As a perusal of our past sales makes clear the finest examples typically offered are certified AU-58, as here. With Capped Bust Right eagles as a whole elusive in today's market, this well preserved example of a popular die marriage would make an ideal addition to an advanced type set or specialized early gold collection.
Provenance: From the George Schwenk Collection. Earlier from Heritage's Long Beach Signature Auction of May 2009, lot 1728; Heritage's Long Beach Signature Auction of September 2009, lot 1637; Heritage's Fort Worth Signature Auction of March 2010, lot 2401; Heritage's FUN Signature Auction of January 2023, lot 3873.
PCGS# 88565. NGC ID: 262A.
Click here for certification details from PCGS.
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