Auction Name: 2026 January 8 US Coins Signature Auction - FUN Special Sessions: Ellsworth & Jacobson

Lot Number: 1026

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/1389*1026

1804 $5 Small 8, BD-4, R.7, AU58 PCGS. HBJ-226. This impressive near-Mint half eagle features satin luster with brilliant honey-gold surfaces. A trace of wear fails to diminish the exquisite design definition of this sharply detailed piece that presents excellent aesthetic appeal.
Variety Equivalents: Adams-8, Breen unlisted (4-E), Miller-65, Bass-3089.
Obverse Die: This is the only use of the obverse die.
Reverse Die: Starting with 1803 BD-3 and BD-4, this reverse die continued in use for 1804 BD-2, BD-3, BD-4, and BD-5.
Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/j: The obverse exhibits Dannreuther's "Fatal bisecting crack" from the rim right of the date into the drapery and hair. The reverse is clashed and cracked.
PCGS Population Data (10/25): All 1804 half eagle varieties include 50 examples that PCGS grades AU58, two graded AU58+, and 109 in Mint State grades.
Significant Examples: The Jacobson coin is tied with the Bass specimen and one other for the third finest of five examples known to us.
Breen (1966): This die combination is not listed in Breen's 1966 monograph nor in his New Varieties monograph, although Edgar Adams and Waldo Newcomer both recognized the variety. The 1804, 1805, and 1806 half eagle varieties have been the source of much confusion. In the Bass-Dannreuther reference, seven 1804 half eagle varieties are recorded. Breen assigned eight different die pairs for six of those varieties and failed to record this seventh die marriage.
Bass-Dannreuther (2006): "Miller called this variety an R-8 (1-3 known) and that may not be far off the mark, as Bass only owned a single example of this combination. The severe obverse cracks are certainly responsible for the rarity of this variety. There are three to five known for this exceedingly rare variety, doubtless due to the quickly cracked obverse die."
Heritage Commentary: When we handled the Bass Collection coin in 2023, it was the first offering of this variety in any of our auctions. Our clients now have a second opportunity to acquire this extremely rare variety. Our roster shows that the present offering is just the eighth time that any example of 1804 BD-4 has appeared for sale at auction since 1979. The recut 8 in the date is diagnostic as this obverse die was not used for any other 1804 half eagle variety.
Doug Winter Commentary: One thing I love about this variety: the massive "fatal" bisecting crack which transverses the obverse. And, by the way, if I were starting a punk band anytime soon, The Fatal Crack would make my shortlist...
Provenance: Recorded below.

A Roster of Significant Examples provided by Ron Guth of the Numismatic Detective Agency with additional contributions from Mark Borckardt.
1. MS62 PCGS. June Auction (Stack's Bowers, 6/2021), lot 2478, $20,400.
2. MS62 Uncertified. Auction '90 (David W. Akers, 8/1990), lot 1879, $5,940.
3. AU58 PCGS. Baltimore Sale (Stack's Bowers, 11/2015), lot 20109, $16,450. The present specimen.
4. AU58 PCGS. Ellis Robison Collection (Stack's, 2/1979), lot 335; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection (Heritage, 8/2023), lot 9039.
5. AU58 NGC. Philadelphia ANA (Stack's Bowers, 8/2012), lot 11684, $19,975; ANA Sale (Stack's Bowers, 8/2019), lot 5322, not sold.
From The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles.

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