LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #444  / 

1717

1798 $1 Small Eagle, 13 Stars AU58 PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:90,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1798 $1 Small Eagle, 13 Stars AU58 PCGS
<B>1798 $1 Small Eagle, 13 Stars AU58 PCGS.</B></I> B-1a, BB-82, R.3. Bowers-Borckardt Die State III with a faint die crack from the N in UNITED through the wreath to the left edge of the left wing. However, the viewer is more likely to notice the heavy vertical die crack through the second T in STATES, which is present in earlier die states but is not as pronounced. BB-82 is historically significant as the final Small Eagle dollar marriage, as well as the only Small Eagle marriage with just 13 obverse stars. The latter feature ensures that BB-82 receives a separate <I>Guide Book</B></I> listing, as does the only 15 Stars Small Eagle variety for 1798, BB-81.<BR>This is a remarkable example of the variety, tied for the honor of finest PCGS-certified with two other examples. This is not the piece from the Cardinal Collection, auctioned in June 2005 and also graded AU58 by PCGS. Per the ANR Cardinal Collection catalog, the third AU58 PCGS example "has apparently since been upgraded to a NGC MS60." The present piece has gorgeous peach-gold toning throughout the fields. The centers are margins are lightly toned slate-gray, along with glimpses of ocean-blue throughout LIBERTY. The surfaces are surprisingly free from abrasions, and in fact the only attribution marker we can locate is a squiggly, hair-thin lintmark (as made) beneath Liberty's neck. The Cardinal Collection example shows slight wear on the hair above the ear and on the eagle's neck, breast, and right (facing) leg, but the present coin lacks noticeable friction in these areas, although the breast and leg are incompletely brought up, as usual for BB-82. Mint luster shimmers across the fields as well as the devices, and one could certainly argue that the grade is overly conservative, and that the piece is indeed Mint State. Regardless, the present lot ranks high within the condition census for the BB-82, and bidder inspection is encouraged in order to appreciate its full quality and beauty.<BR><BR><B>Coin Engraver:</B> Robert Scot<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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