1795 $5 SM EAGLE

Description

Exquisite Prooflike 1795 Half Eagle, MS 63 NGC

1795 $5 Small Eagle MS 63 NGC. B.1-B, Miller-2, R.4. Upon his appointment by George Washington in 1795, Mint Director Henry William De Saussure followed his predecessor's plans to begin half eagle coinage. Accordingly, Robert Scot prepared both obverse and reverse dies. Breen speculates that Scot copied the bust of Liberty for his obverse motif from an unknown engraving of a Greek or Roman goddess. The cap that adorns her head should not be confused with the well known pilleus cap, which does not make its debut on the half eagle until John Reich's Capped Bust design of 1807. For the reverse, Scot copied the eagle, along with its wreath and palm branch, from a copy of a first century A. D. Roman onyx cameo. With deserved pride of accomplishment, De Saussure delivered the first 744 half eagles to the Mint's Treasurer on July 31, 1795. These pieces represented the first gold coins produced by the United States. The Philadelphia Mint completed the remaining 7,963 pieces of the 1795 delivery by September 16 of the same year. At that time, De Saussure halted coinage of the denomination and switched his staff's emphasis to the production of the first ten dollar gold pieces.
Despite its low mintage of only 8,707 pieces, the 1795 half eagle delivery required an inordinate sum of seven obverse and nine reverse dies. The archaic state of technology at the fledgling Mint undoubtedly explains this heavy die wastage, although its staff managed to preserve at least two of the 1795 dies past September 16 and used them to produce the famous 1796/5 and 1797/5 varieties. The public saved many of the 1795 half eagles as souvenirs from the Mint's first gold coinage and, in 1942-1944 a dozen About Uncirculated and Mint State specimens emerged from the collection of Colonel E. H. R. Green. Apparently, many of the extant Uncirculated specimens grade MS 62 and below and the gold enthusiast who desires a MS 63 specimen for his/her collection should enter a carefully considered bid for the honor. This specimen carries thickly frosted devices that contrast nicely with the modestly reflective fields to impart an attractive prooflike finish. While the obverse features are crisply defined, the reverse displays characteristic striking weakness on the eagle's neck and right (facing) leg feathers. As befits the grade, there are numerous wispy abrasions throughout both the obverse and the reverse, although we note that these hardly detract from the stunning eye appeal of the effulgent, yellow-gold surfaces. A pair of small planchet flaws at the rear of Liberty's cheek, as well as a third between star 13 and the denticles, are useful for pedigree purposes. Since NGC and PCGS combined have encapsulated only 12 examples in MS 63 with only 10 pieces finer (6/99), we expect extraordinary competition for this numismatic treasure.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25ND, PCGS# 8066, GSID# 8791)

Metal: 91.67% Gold, 8.33% Copper
Weight: 8.75 grams
AGW: 0.28oz
Mintage: 8,707

Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.