1795 $5 BD-6, S/D MS(PCGS#519855)

The Oliver Jung Collection

拍卖行

American Numismatic Rarities

批号

90

等级

MS63

价格

1,618,811

详细说明

1795 Breen 4-D. BD-6. Rarity-5. Small Eagle. MS-63 (PCGS). A sharply struck and very beautiful example of the first half eagle type, with Miss Liberty on the obverse, facing right, stars behind and in front of the portrait, LIBERTY at the upper right and the date below. The reverse, the so-called "Small Eagle" motif shows the national bird perched on a palm branch, holding a wreath of laurel aloft in its beak. The present coin is sharply and exquisitely detailed on obverse and reverse, complemented by boldly reflective prooflike fields. It is a treat to gaze for a long time at the feathers of the eagle, each of which is sharply delineated, or at the leaves in the laurel wreath, or any of the other features, including the dentils (curious in some instances, irregularly spaced and of irregular length), as such remarkable sharpness is not often seen. The coin offered here is highly lustrous, remarkably free of heavy adjustment marks, though a few very light ones can be seen above the cap of Liberty. The surfaces are warm yellow gold with some deeper gold overtones, mostly on the obverse. Across the entire spectrum of 1795 half eagles of this type, combining all die varieties, only 12 have been certified by PCGS at this level, with only five finer. The present piece is a true treasure for the gold specialist as well as the type set collector. The Breen 4-D marriage is a fascinating error variety, with the last S of STATES punched over an erroneous D, reminiscent of the STATES over STETES variety of half dollars from this same year (Overton-113). Relatively early die state, lapping marks atop reverse periphery as usually seen from an attempt to remove the erroneous D. Both dies crack severely in a later state. Breen notes the specimen from New Netherlands' 54th sale as an example of this state; that piece shows a crack from truncation of bust to rim, another above LI of LIBERTY, and fused dentils below U of UNITED at the end of a long die crack. The present specimen however shows only minor beginnings of these described failures. A fine crack connects the top left serif of the L to a denticle, no crack appears at the truncation, and on the reverse a fine crack extends from the rim to UNI, and another from the rim to TE (UNITED). A popular variety, especially in this elevated state of preservation. The 1795 half eagle represents the first denomination of gold coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint, with the deliveries taking place in mid-summer of that year, later followed by deliveries of the $10 gold eagle, and in 1796 by the quarter eagle. The mintage for the 1795-dated half eagle is not known, although for the calendar year some 8,707 were recorded. However, it seems that 1795-dated obverse dies were used at later dates, including one used as late as 1798, so the true figure will never be known. Probably the number was on the long side of 10,000. Multiple dies were used, creating a very interesting array of obverse and reverse combinations. Over a long period of time these have formed the focus of study for many numismatists, perhaps beginning with J. Colvin Randall in the 1870s and early 1880s, continuing with William H. Woodin in the early 20th century, whose reins were picked up by Edgar H. Adams. Still later studies were conducted by others, including Walter Breen and the present writer and staff associates in The Harry W. Bass Museum Sylloge. Each die was hand-made and has its own characteristics, interesting to study. Today in 2004, even specimens in grades of VF and EF are sufficiently expensive that collecting them by varieties is not practical. However, the subject is still interesting to contemplate. Design: Obverse with Capped Bust to right, stars to left and right, LIBERTY at upper right, date below. Reverse with eagle perched on a palm branch, holding an olive wreath aloft, said to have been copied from the design of an ancient cameo. This combination of obverse and reverse was last used in 1798, while in the meantime the Heraldic Eagle reverse was employed for much of the later coinage. Designer: Robert Scot. Comments: Half eagles of the 1790s were well appreciated in commerce. However, most were exported, with the result that they never were common in circulation within the United States. Other details of the gold situation are given earlier in the present catalogue. PCGS Population: 12; 5 finer (MS-65).