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

3543

1834 $5 Plain 4 MS65 PCGS. Second Head, Breen-6502, Mc

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:40,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 2.00 USD
1834 $5 Plain 4 MS65 PCGS. Second Head, Breen-6502, Mc
<B>1834 $5 Plain 4 MS65 PCGS.</B></I> Second Head, Breen-6502, McCloskey 2-B, R.3. This is the Small Plain 4 variety, in which the 4 is visibly triple-punched and distant from the lowest hair curl. The 8 in the date is the so-called Block 8 style, with the juncture of the two loops thinner than the loops themselves. The eagle has no tongue on the No Motto reverse.<BR> 1834 is one of the more historic years in the annals of U.S. numismatics. More than 650,000 half eagles of the new Classic Head design by William Kneass were struck in 1834. In this year the intrinsic value (gold content) of the old-tenor gold coins exceeded their face value, leading to a tragic (for future collectors) wholesale melting of the old-style Capped Bust to Left pieces. Those pieces consisted mostly of quarter eagles and half eagles, the only gold coins that had been recently minted, since the last eagle coinage had occurred in 1804 and would not recur until 1838. In August of the following year Kneass, age 54, would suffer a debilitating stroke, and Christian Gobrecht will become <I>de facto</B></I> chief engraver. The half eagles featured a slightly reduced diameter (which would be reduced again in 1840 with the Liberty Head design) and omitted the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, supposedly making it easier for users to distinguish the two types.<BR> The Plain 4 variety is easier to find in Mint State than the Crosslet 4 pieces, but most Uncirculated examples range from MS62 to MS64. Gem pieces such as the present example are nonetheless quite rare and elusive. This specimen offers rich yellow-gold color in the fields, with some prooflikeness on each side and darker, frost peripheries and devices. The B in LIBERTY is open at the bottom, and a tiny spinelike die line emits upward and right from the R. Scrutiny with a loupe reveals no contact marks worthy of mention, although a small bit of die grease is noted through the arrowheads. A boldly lustrous and appealing piece. The combined NGC and PCGS population data attest to the scarcity and desirability of this type coin. NGC has graded 58 examples of the Plain 4 in MS64, but only eight pieces in MS65, while PCGS has certified 40 examples in MS64, but only two specimens in MS65, with but a single MS66 specimen finer (11/06). Certified in a PCGS green-label holder.<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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