1807
Capped Bust $5, Bust Left
PCGS MS63
- $25,750. Click on Coin Image to
enlarge
A
popular and important type coin, the present specimen
is a truly premium quality coin. Both sides are very
lustrous with relatively clean surfaces for the grade..
Please contact
me by email
or telephone 1-941-291-2156
to reserve this great coin.
This type was designed
by John Reich, the new assistant engraver at the Mint,
next to the elderly Robert Scot, who had designed our
nation’s first gold coins, including the “work-horse”
five dollar gold piece, or half eagle. Short lived,
as the type was discontinued after 1812. Thus, the present
specimen represents an uncirculated first year of issue
coin of this type which his always in demand.
Orange-gold coloration
with full and flashy luster highlights the pristine
surfaces of this coin. The strike is full, with no weakness
noted on either side. No individual abrasions are worth
to be mentioned on either side, which only feature some
scattered marks from careless handling, presumably within
the first few decades after this coin was struck. A
premium quality coin destined for an advanced type set
or high quality set of early American gold coinage.
By 1807, minting of
the larger eagles had been discontinued since 1804,
and was not resumed until several decades later. As
such, the half eagle was the denomination of choice
for large transactions, in particular between businesses
and banks, as it represented a, for the time, huge amount
in cash. Because of this, heavy circulation and the
extremely low number of people who at the time could
afford to put half eagles away for collections, this
is a scarce issue in the mint state grades.
Two varieties are known
for this issue, with the present specimen being a representative
of the more available variety, BD-8. This was the second
use of the obverse die, paired with a new reverse die
after the old broke after only a couple of thousand
coins had been struck. The reverse on this particular
variety best is identified by the position of the leaf
closest to U in UNITED. On this variety, it is close,
whereas on BD-7 it will be farther away, an obvious
difference which can easily be seen.
