1798 $5 BD-4, Large 8 MS(PCGS#507324)

Spring 2019 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1142

等级

AU58

价格

92,502

详细说明

Near-Mint 1798 Half Eagle Large 8, 13-Star Reverse 1798 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. BD-4. Rarity-4+. Large 8, 13-Star Reverse, Wide Date. AU-58 (NGC). A beautifully prooflike example boasting a flashy complexion of brassy gold and honey coloration. The strike is uniform and bold, showing just a touch of softness to Liberty's hair that is typical for the variety. A few faint hairlines are visible in the right obverse field, and evidence of a strike-through at the Y of LIBERTY serves as a convenient pedigree marker. The diagnostic cuds at the upper reverse rim are well developed, equivalent to BD Die State c/d. Just 13 coins have been certified finer by NGC. Soon after the denomination's introduction in 1795, the half eagle became a popular larger denomination coin in everyday use. Production was maintained at a fairly consistent rate beginning in 1797, despite the frequent yellow fever outbreaks for which Philadelphia was well known. During these outbreaks, Mint operations were interrupted often for months at a time, compelling Mint personnel to employ some novel die pairings using whatever was on hand at the time in order to meet demand. The die pairs employed in 1798 used reverses that have been the subject of study for decades. Both the obverse and reverse dies employed for the BD-4 combination suffered from clashing early in their service lives. The obverse die began to crack, while the reverse -- used only for this pairing -- suffered from cuds and cracking. While trying to maintain their usefulness as long as possible, both dies were lapped, but even this could not prevent them from failing completely not long after the present specimen was struck. Out of the reported mintage of 24,867 half eagles, between 5,000 and 7,000 coins were struck from this die pair before die failure, making this the most available of all the 1798 half eagle varieties and all pre-1800 half eagles in general. The BD-4 is far from common in part due to the rampant speculation and meltings of the 1820s -- no more than 100 specimens likely survive for numismatists. This is an ideal choice for the numismatist seeking to assemble a first-class display of early type gold. NGC Census: 13; 13 finer. PCGS# 8078. NGC ID: BFX6. Click here for certification details from NGC.