5190

[L#5190] $5 Gold Capped Bust/Small Eagle. 1795. S Over

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:37,500.00 USD Estimated At:150,000.00 - 175,000.00 USD
[L#5190] $5 Gold Capped Bust/Small Eagle. 1795. S Over
Heart-stopping quality. Each side has a beaming yellow-gold devices surrounded by a nice field of glittering <I>full prooflike</I>surface! Struck with scientific exactness throughout the cap and hair, one is amazed by the stress given to the detail in this key area, as though the coin were specially made for a presentation or something similar. This aspect of razor-sharpness carries on over to the reverse. Here, too, the golden frosted eagle is set against sparkling mirrors, with all of the tiny feathers on the eagle's breast plainly visible! If ever a coin deserves special mention and a special place in someone's "museum quality" collection of rare early gold, it is this 1795 half eagle.

This Breen 4-D marriage is a fascinating error variety, with the last S of STATES punched over an erroneous D, reminiscent of the STATES over STETES variety of half dollars from this same year (Overton-113). Relatively early die state, lapping marks atop reverse periphery as usually seen from an attempt to remove the erroneous D. (Both dies crack severely in a later state.) A popular variety, especially in this elusive state of preservation.

The 1795 half eagle represents the first American gold coin produced at the Philadelphia Mint, with the deliveries taking place in the summer of that year, followed by deliveries of the $10 gold eagle, and in 1796 by the quarter eagle. The mintage for the 1795-dated half eagle is unknown, although for the calendar year some 8,707 were recorded. However, it may be that 1795-dated obverse dies were used in later years, including one as late as 1798, so the true figure may never be known. Probably the number was slightly higher than 10,000. Multiple dies were used, creating an interesting variety of obverse-reverse pairings. These have become the focus of intense study for many numismatists.