Elusive 1812 Narrow 5D Half Eagle
BD-2 in Gem Condition
Condition Census for the Variety

1812 $5 MS65 NGC. Narrow 5D, Breen-6465, BD-2, High R.4. This variety, with the 5 and D in the denomination closely spaced, is far more elusive than the Wide 5D pairing that shares the same obverse die, the two marriages constituting all half eagle varieties for the year. As a good comparison, Harry W. Bass, Jr., with his virtually unlimited resources, owned four examples of the Wide 5D, but only a single example of the Narrow 5D.
The Capped Bust to Left half eagles series comprises only six years from 1807 through 1812, with a total of 11 separate Guide Book-listed entries. When one considers all the various die pairings listed in Bass-Dannreuther, the number of possible different varieties for the series swells to 15: two for 1807, four for 1808, one for 1809, four for 1810, two for 1811, and two for 1812. Considered as a date, the 1812 is a bit more common than the 1808 and about on par with the 1809. Considered as a variety, however, the 1812 Narrow 5D is exceeded in rarity by only four die pairings among all of the 1807-1812 Bass-Dannreuther varieties listed, and at High R.4 it is about tied in rarity with the 1808/7 BD-2, the more common of the two 1808/7 overdate varieties.
As a condition rarity, however, any of the 1807-1812 half eagles are rare in Gem condition, the state of preservation of the present piece. In 2006, Garrett and Guth commented that "as with all dates of this type, the 1812 half eagle is rare in gem condition, and the finest certified example is a single PCGS MS-66. Of all the Capped Bust to Left half eagles in the Smithsonian, only the 1812 is a gem. In 1999, an NGC MS-65 coin set a record price of $64,400 for this date."
Since those words were published, the cited price record has been broken twice at Heritage, by two PCGS-graded coins: 2008 FUN Signature Auction #454 (1/2008), lot 3154 (Wide 5D), which realized $161,000, and 2007 St. Louis, MO (CSNS) Signature Coin Auction #434, lot 2287 (Narrow 5D), which realized $149,500. As of this writing (06/08), the total NGC and PCGS combined population shows 14 Gem 1812s with a single MS66 finer, as noted by Garrett and Guth. None of those 1812 coins are attributed by die variety, however, so it is a near-certainty that a majority of them are the more-common Wide 5D pairing. Making a reasonable assumption for duplications at the certification services and considering that Bass-Dannreuther estimate that the Wide 5D is about four or five times more common, it is possible that only two or three certified Gems of the Narrow 5D exist. Twice before we have offered MS65 Narrow 5D 1812s (both PCGS-certified), but the present coin appears to be neither of those specimens. Regardless of which variety the MS66 PCGS piece is, the present coin is clearly at or near the top of the Condition Census for the variety.
As one would expect from any coin graded MS65, the luster is outstanding. The color is bright, even yellow-gold with none of the usual reddish patina. There are no obvious or distracting abrasions on this Gem, and just a few trivial adjustment marks are noted at the upper obverse rim. As an example of the rarer Narrow 5D variety in top condition, in a hot market for early type gold, this remarkable piece is fully expected to shatter another price record.(Registry values: P2) (#8112)

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