Heritage World Coin Auctions
FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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Early Half Eagles
1797 $5 Small Eagle, 16 Stars, BD-3, R.6, AU58+ NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State a/c. According to the 2017 Guide Book, 3,609 Capped Bust Right half eagles were struck in 1797 using the Small Eagle reverse. Four die varieties are known for the date and type, two with 15 stars on the obverse and two with 16 stars. The 16th star was apparently added to the design after Tennessee joined the Union on June 1, 1796. Three varieties of 1797-dated half eagles are known that feature the Heraldic Eagle reverse, but those coins were probably produced in 1798. This coin represents the BD-3 variety, with 16 obverse stars and two berries in the wreath on the reverse, both placed outside, on either side. The BD-3 is a rare variety in absolute terms, but it is still seen more often than the other three 1797 Small Eagle varieties. The BD-3 has a surviving population of 20-25 examples in all grades and probably accounted for 1,000-1,500 pieces of the reported mintage. Two specimens of the BD-3 are included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution and another resides in the Harry Bass Foundation. This was the only use of the reverse die, but the obverse was used again to strike the extremely rare BD-4 (Small Eagle) and BD-5 (Large Eagle) varieties of this date. Both the BD-4 and BD-5 are represented by a single known specimen today, so the coinage of those varieties must have been very small.
The 1797 half eagle has been popular with collectors since the earliest days of the hobby. Pioneering collector Matthew Stickney obtained an example of the BD-3 variety from bullion and exchange brokers Beebee & Co. on December 30, 1853, according to a letter from that firm in the Stickney papers at the Peabody Essex Museum. Stickney paid only bullion price for this piece ($5.35). When his collection was sold by Henry Chapman in June of 1907, long after his death, his 1797 half eagle realized $250, a considerable advance on his investment. The record price realized for a BD-3 1797 half eagle is a staggering $411,250, brought by the MS61 PCGS specimen in Stack's Bowers' Chicago ANA Auction (8/2013).
The BD-3 is seldom encountered in Mint State grades, and even the famous D. Brent Pogue Collection only included a PCGS-graded AU58 example, which sold last year for $287,875. This Plus-graded near-Mint example probably fits somewhere in the middle of the Condition Census for the variety, as PCGS has graded no coins in AU58+, with one MS61 example finer, while NGC has graded only this specimen in AU58+, with two finer (9/16).
This coin exhibits sharply detailed design elements in most areas that show just the slightest wear on the central high points. The pleasing orange-gold surfaces are lustrous and lightly abraded, with no sign of planchet adjustment marks. The reverse shows a prominent die crack from the rim to the palm branch, and on to the eagle's tail, afterward splitting into two cracks, one traveling on to the wing and the other ending near the final A in AMERICA. This combination of absolute rarity, strong visual appeal, and intense historic interest is difficult to duplicate. The discerning collector should bid accordingly.
Ex: January-February Auction (Superior, 1/1993), lot 1340.
From The Hutchinson Collection.
1797 $5 Small Eagle, 16 Stars, BD-3, R.6, AU58+ NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State a/c. According to the 2017 Guide Book, 3,609 Capped Bust Right half eagles were struck in 1797 using the Small Eagle reverse. Four die varieties are known for the date and type, two with 15 stars on the obverse and two with 16 stars. The 16th star was apparently added to the design after Tennessee joined the Union on June 1, 1796. Three varieties of 1797-dated half eagles are known that feature the Heraldic Eagle reverse, but those coins were probably produced in 1798. This coin represents the BD-3 variety, with 16 obverse stars and two berries in the wreath on the reverse, both placed outside, on either side. The BD-3 is a rare variety in absolute terms, but it is still seen more often than the other three 1797 Small Eagle varieties. The BD-3 has a surviving population of 20-25 examples in all grades and probably accounted for 1,000-1,500 pieces of the reported mintage. Two specimens of the BD-3 are included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution and another resides in the Harry Bass Foundation. This was the only use of the reverse die, but the obverse was used again to strike the extremely rare BD-4 (Small Eagle) and BD-5 (Large Eagle) varieties of this date. Both the BD-4 and BD-5 are represented by a single known specimen today, so the coinage of those varieties must have been very small.
The 1797 half eagle has been popular with collectors since the earliest days of the hobby. Pioneering collector Matthew Stickney obtained an example of the BD-3 variety from bullion and exchange brokers Beebee & Co. on December 30, 1853, according to a letter from that firm in the Stickney papers at the Peabody Essex Museum. Stickney paid only bullion price for this piece ($5.35). When his collection was sold by Henry Chapman in June of 1907, long after his death, his 1797 half eagle realized $250, a considerable advance on his investment. The record price realized for a BD-3 1797 half eagle is a staggering $411,250, brought by the MS61 PCGS specimen in Stack's Bowers' Chicago ANA Auction (8/2013).
The BD-3 is seldom encountered in Mint State grades, and even the famous D. Brent Pogue Collection only included a PCGS-graded AU58 example, which sold last year for $287,875. This Plus-graded near-Mint example probably fits somewhere in the middle of the Condition Census for the variety, as PCGS has graded no coins in AU58+, with one MS61 example finer, while NGC has graded only this specimen in AU58+, with two finer (9/16).
This coin exhibits sharply detailed design elements in most areas that show just the slightest wear on the central high points. The pleasing orange-gold surfaces are lustrous and lightly abraded, with no sign of planchet adjustment marks. The reverse shows a prominent die crack from the rim to the palm branch, and on to the eagle's tail, afterward splitting into two cracks, one traveling on to the wing and the other ending near the final A in AMERICA. This combination of absolute rarity, strong visual appeal, and intense historic interest is difficult to duplicate. The discerning collector should bid accordingly.
Ex: January-February Auction (Superior, 1/1993), lot 1340.
From The Hutchinson Collection.