LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Sept. Long Beach Signature Coin Auction  / 

3382

1813 $5 MS64 NGC

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:3,250.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1813 $5 MS64 NGC
<B>1813 $5 MS64 NGC.</B></I> BD-1, R.2. The first S in STATES is over the right side of the E in the motto. The 1813 half eagle is the first year of a new type and, like most-first-year issues, it appears to have been saved for posterity by collectors and noncollectors alike. In <I>Guide Book </B></I>terminology, this is the Capped Head to Left, Large Diameter, Bold Relief type (or subtype, since the Bold Relief subtype only lasted through 1815).<BR> Although this type showed considerably increased mintages from the previous Capped Bust to Left half eagles of 1807-1812, the Capped Head to Left half eagles were also much more hoarded and melted than the previous type, as John Dannreuther points out in his indispensable <I>Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties.</B></I> Most survivors of the later type are in the higher circulated grades or Uncirculated, whereas the earlier coins often show considerable wear. Dannreuther says, "Because there were relatively few gold coins in circulation stateside from 1812 onward, and none were seen after 1821 until the introduction of the lighter gold coins after July 21, 1834, this is expected. As mentioned, this type is many times rarer than those coins of 1812 and prior. Those coins of 1813 are the only available date of this type, those of 1814 through 1820 are scarce to ultra rare, while those of 1821 through 1829 are almost all rare or exceedingly rare. Those coins used in international commerce for goods and services were mostly melted. Only those few coins hoarded domestically and not melted after the weight change in 1834 are the examples we have to collect today, plus the few coins plucked from foreign sources."<BR> We accordingly have an interesting situation in the present 1813 half eagle, as a high-grade (near-Gem) example one of the most available issues in one of the most difficult and elusive of all U.S. coin series; in other words, the quintessential type coin. The BD-1 is also the only readily available <I>variety</B></I> for the type. This coin offers brilliant luster emanating from the greenish-gold surfaces, which are remarkably attractive and distraction-free. A couple of minuscule ticks appear in the lower right obverse field, and both sides show some old clash marks, but the overall appearance is strictly in concordance with the near-Gem grade. This coin is almost certainly destined to fill some long-empty hole in a high-grade 19th century type set.<BR><BR><BR><B>Coin Engraver:</B> John Reich<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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