Heritage World Coin Auctions
FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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Early Eagles
1801 $10 BD-2, R.2, AU58 NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/a. The 1801 Capped Bust Right eagle claims a mintage of 44,344 pieces, with two die varieties known for the date. This coin is a representative of the popular BD-2 variety, with two points of star 8 directed at the cap and star 13 close to the bust. The BD-2 is a relatively available variety, and a popular type coin, with a surviving population of 600-800 examples in all grades. This was the only use of the obverse die, but the reverse was used again to strike the BD-3 variety of 1803. Some mysterious vertical spikes are seen in the cap in this die state, though earlier states do not show this anomaly. These do not appear to be clash marks as originally thought, because they do not line up correctly with the stripes in the shield on the reverse. Heritage numismatist Mark Borckardt theorizes these marks may be the impression of the threads of a set screw that fell onto the surface of a planchet before the coin was struck by the obverse die. In this scenario, the threads would have left their impression on the obverse die and the coin (which may have been destroyed by the examiners as defective), without leaving any marks on the reverse die.
The present coin is an appealing near-Mint example, with just a trace of wear on the well-detailed design elements. The central devices are strongly impressed, but a touch of flatness is seen on some stars and the reverse exhibits some planchet adjustment marks through the letters in STATES and the shield. The orange-gold surfaces retain traces of original mint luster and show only minor abrasions.
1801 $10 BD-2, R.2, AU58 NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/a. The 1801 Capped Bust Right eagle claims a mintage of 44,344 pieces, with two die varieties known for the date. This coin is a representative of the popular BD-2 variety, with two points of star 8 directed at the cap and star 13 close to the bust. The BD-2 is a relatively available variety, and a popular type coin, with a surviving population of 600-800 examples in all grades. This was the only use of the obverse die, but the reverse was used again to strike the BD-3 variety of 1803. Some mysterious vertical spikes are seen in the cap in this die state, though earlier states do not show this anomaly. These do not appear to be clash marks as originally thought, because they do not line up correctly with the stripes in the shield on the reverse. Heritage numismatist Mark Borckardt theorizes these marks may be the impression of the threads of a set screw that fell onto the surface of a planchet before the coin was struck by the obverse die. In this scenario, the threads would have left their impression on the obverse die and the coin (which may have been destroyed by the examiners as defective), without leaving any marks on the reverse die.
The present coin is an appealing near-Mint example, with just a trace of wear on the well-detailed design elements. The central devices are strongly impressed, but a touch of flatness is seen on some stars and the reverse exhibits some planchet adjustment marks through the letters in STATES and the shield. The orange-gold surfaces retain traces of original mint luster and show only minor abrasions.