LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2007 Jan (FUN) Heritage Signature Coin #422  / 

3502

1803/2 $5 MS65 PCGS. Breen-6441, BD-1, R.4. All 1803 h

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:9,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 2.00 USD
1803/2 $5 MS65 PCGS. Breen-6441, BD-1, R.4. All 1803 h
<B>1803/2 $5 MS65 PCGS.</B></I> Breen-6441, BD-1, R.4. A fully lustrous Gem that ranks among the finest 1803/2 half eagles. The strike is exacting save for the eagle's left (facing) claw, which is opposite the comparatively high relief cap. The light canary-gold surfaces lack identifying abrasions, and a slender diagonal roller mark (as made) on the left half of the shield provides the only suitable pedigree marker. It is unlikely that <I>any</B></I> 1803/2 half eagle of similar quality will appear at auction for some time, let alone an example of BD-1 with a cud die break.<BR> All 1803 half eagles are overdates. Two obverse dies were used, and both show prominent remnants of an underdigit 2. BD-1 shares its obverse die with two other varieties, so it is identified by its reverse. An arrowhead is centered beneath the N in UNITED, rather than beneath the right upright of the N, as is the case for BD-2 to BD-4. Most if not all examples of BD-1 exhibit a die crack through TED. Later, slender die cracks emerge along the left shield border and the left curve of the O in OF. The present piece is from the final die state, noted for a cud over the UN in UNITED. A brief survey of Heritage's Permanent Auction Archives failed to locate another example of BD-1 with this cud, and the variety is probably very rare as such. Harry W. Bass, Jr. was likely the first to note this die state; a polished example appears as lot 307 in the Bass IV auction. Bass was blessed with the resources to collect early gold not only by die marriage, but by die state, and his fastidious notes are an invaluable resource for researchers. Encapsulated in a green label PCGS holder. Population: 2 in 65, 2 finer (10/06).<BR><I>From The Essex Palm Collection.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coin/Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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