Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature US Coin Sale 1258 2-6 Aug 2017
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Early Eagles
1797 $10 Small Eagle, BD-1, R.5, AU58 NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/b. The 1797 Capped Bust Right eagle with the Small Eagle reverse claims a truly small mintage of 3,615 pieces. Only one die pair was needed to strike the entire production run, and this was the only use of the obverse die. The reverse design was switched over to the Heraldic Eagle motif later in the year and a single obverse die was combined with three different reverse dies to strike three more 1797-dated varieties of the new type. There are also two 1798/7 varieties known, struck from two different overdated 1797 obverse dies, so at least four different 1797-dated obverse dies were originally prepared. The 1797 BD-1 reverse die was used previously to strike all the eagles in 1796. Probably no more than 55-65 examples of the 1797 Small Eagle ten survive today in all grades.
Early numismatists were fascinated by the different varieties of the 1797 gold eagle and recognized the elusive nature of the Small Eagle type at an early date. The coins were featured regularly in auction catalogs of the mid-1860s. The catalog of the John F. McCoy Collection (W. Elliot Woodward, 5/1864) offered a nice example of the Small Eagle type in lot 1932:
"1797 With small eagle reverse, four stars facing. This splendid piece is in almost proof condition, and one of the rarest of the American gold series."
The lot sold to Col. Mendes I. Cohen, of Baltimore, for $51, the highest price brought by any early gold eagle in the sale. The current record price realized for a 1797 Small Eagle ten is $448,500, brought by the MS63 NGC specimen in the Pre-Long Beach Auction (Ira and Larry Goldberg, 5/2007), lot 1643.
The present coin is an extraordinary near-Mint specimen that shows only the slightest trace of wear on the well-detailed design elements. A prominent die crack is evident from the edge below star 16, across the field, to Liberty's neck and some light clash marks are visible on the reverse. The lustrous antique-gold surfaces are lightly abraded and show traces of prooflike reflectivity in sheltered areas. The overall presentation is most attractive.
HID02901242017
1797 $10 Small Eagle, BD-1, R.5, AU58 NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/b. The 1797 Capped Bust Right eagle with the Small Eagle reverse claims a truly small mintage of 3,615 pieces. Only one die pair was needed to strike the entire production run, and this was the only use of the obverse die. The reverse design was switched over to the Heraldic Eagle motif later in the year and a single obverse die was combined with three different reverse dies to strike three more 1797-dated varieties of the new type. There are also two 1798/7 varieties known, struck from two different overdated 1797 obverse dies, so at least four different 1797-dated obverse dies were originally prepared. The 1797 BD-1 reverse die was used previously to strike all the eagles in 1796. Probably no more than 55-65 examples of the 1797 Small Eagle ten survive today in all grades.
Early numismatists were fascinated by the different varieties of the 1797 gold eagle and recognized the elusive nature of the Small Eagle type at an early date. The coins were featured regularly in auction catalogs of the mid-1860s. The catalog of the John F. McCoy Collection (W. Elliot Woodward, 5/1864) offered a nice example of the Small Eagle type in lot 1932:
"1797 With small eagle reverse, four stars facing. This splendid piece is in almost proof condition, and one of the rarest of the American gold series."
The lot sold to Col. Mendes I. Cohen, of Baltimore, for $51, the highest price brought by any early gold eagle in the sale. The current record price realized for a 1797 Small Eagle ten is $448,500, brought by the MS63 NGC specimen in the Pre-Long Beach Auction (Ira and Larry Goldberg, 5/2007), lot 1643.
The present coin is an extraordinary near-Mint specimen that shows only the slightest trace of wear on the well-detailed design elements. A prominent die crack is evident from the edge below star 16, across the field, to Liberty's neck and some light clash marks are visible on the reverse. The lustrous antique-gold surfaces are lightly abraded and show traces of prooflike reflectivity in sheltered areas. The overall presentation is most attractive.
HID02901242017