LOT #1007 |
Current Bid: $20,000
1795 $5 Large Eagle, BD-13, High R.8, MS62 PCGS....
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Description
1795 BD-13 Heraldic Eagle Five, MS62
Unique Die Marriage
Missing From the Bass Collection
1795 $5 Large Eagle, BD-13, High R.8, MS62 PCGS.
HBJ-207. Although undesignated on its holder, this lovely
Mint State example is prooflike with fully mirrored fields around
the satin devices. Both sides display brilliant orange-gold luster.
Light adjustment marks are noted at the center of the obverse. As
expected for the grade, scattered surface marks are evident,
although none are consequential.The present opportunity to bid on and acquire this important 1795-dated half eagle is unprecedented in recent times. This unique half eagle was featured alongside several other important varieties in "Elusive Half Eagle Varieties, A Collection of Early Examples," penned by Mark R. Borckardt and Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. for the August 2019 issue of The Numismatist. The article is reprinted in this catalog with permission from the American Numismatic Association.
Variety Equivalents: Breen 6-W, Hilt 6-O, Miller-14.
Obverse Die: The obverse was also used for the BD-8, BD-9, and BD-10 Small Eagle varieties.
Reverse Die: The reverse die appears here and for the 1795 BD-14 Heraldic Eagle variety.
Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/b: The obverse die was previously used for 1795 Small Eagle varieties BD-8, BD-9, and BD-10. Evidence of die spalling is visible, with an undescribed wispy die crack that joins the tops of RT in LIBERTY. The reverse appears on 1795 BD-13 and BD-14. Several delicate die cracks join most of the legend letters. Slight evidence of die lapping is visible, including the hollow outer leaf below the I in AMERICA. Until such time that a second example is discovered, this piece represents the sole die state.
PCGS Population Data (10/25): The PCGS population data includes all three 1795 Heraldic Eagle varieties: MS64 (2), MS63 (2), MS62+ (2), MS62 (6), and MS61 (2).
Significant Examples: The present example is the only census entry.
Breen (1966): Breen's remarks about this die marriage were brief: "WGC 318. (The same cut was reused above Melish 1836, but the WGC coin was uncirculated and the two Melish coins were EF and AU-aside from being of different varieties.) Apparently, unique; no whisper of a rumor of another one. This is the rarest of all half eagles, perhaps being equaled by the 1797 16 stars, and heraldic eagle reverse."
Throughout his monograph, and other similar works, Breen frequently used a short hand notation such as "WGC 318" to identify auction appearances, assuming the reader understood his notation. WGC was the January 1946 Numismatic Gallery sale of the World's Greatest Collection, i.e. the F.C.C. Boyd Collection.
Bass-Dannreuther (2006): Following Breen's publication of the variety, others disputed its existence. Dannreuther writes: "Other researchers have doubted the existence of this coin, as many early auction catalogs used stock photographs (sometimes combining obverse and reverse dies never used together) instead of ones of the actual coins. This was done to save the expense of taking a picture of the actual coin being sold. Today, all photographs are of the actual coins, unless there is a mistake by the auction house. So, this coin was presumed to be a catalog variety, with a stock photo that was a composite of two different coins, creating a variety that did not exist."
Heritage Commentary: This is the first of seven unique early half eagle varieties that include five privately held (1795 BD-13, 1797 BD-4, 1819 BD-3, 1825 BD-3, and 1834 BD-4) and two (1797 BD-5 and 1797 BD-6) housed in the Smithsonian Institution collection. All five of the privately held varieties are included in the present offering of the Jacobson Collection. One other variety (1828 BD-2) was considered unique until a second example surfaced in the James A. Stack Collection.
When Walter Breen was preparing his 1966 monograph on the early half eagles, he identified his "Breen 6-W" die combination from a photograph that Numismatic Gallery published two decades earlier in their catalog of F.C.C. Boyd's "World's Greatest Collection." He correctly noted that the same photo was reused in the Melish catalog (lot 1836) even though the Melish coin graded just XF and was described as a different variety. This unique coin has a storied history following its identification from that old catalog photo.
Cataloged as "About Uncirculated with proof-like surface" in April 1966 as a 1795 Large Heraldic Eagle variety with no further attribution, Stack's published their opinion that "less than a dozen examples of this rarity [were] known." They noted that the Pierce sale coin realized $5,000 the previous year and "would not be surprised if this specimen approached that figure." The coin realized $3,500.00.
More than 35 years passed before this unique BD-13 half eagle was offered again in the November 2001 Bowers and Merena auction of the Tree Many Feathers collection where lot 253 was misattributed as Breen 5-W (BD-14) and failed to meet its reserve. Another appearance a few months later in the Stack's sale of June 2002 again failed to meet its reserve when it was incorrectly cataloged as "one of two known." The cataloger for American Numismatic Rarities provided the correct attribution and mentioned its status as a unique variety. Graded MS62 PCGS, the coin again failed to reach its reserve. The most recent auction appearance was in our January 2014 FUN Signature auction, and once more, this important piece failed to reach its reserve.
Doug Winter Commentary: What a coin...unique and actually quite nice for the grade. In my experience, many of the excessively rare or unique varieties found on pre-1834 U.S. coins tend to be ugly. This is one of the very few early gold varieties that is unique and the fact that such early researchers and collectors as Edgar Adams, Waldo Newcomer, Walter Breen, and Harry Bass never found one is a true testament to the numismatic significance of the Jacobson Collection.
Provenance: F.C.C. Boyd (Numismatic Gallery, 1/1946), lot 318, $525; Dr. Conway Bolt Collection (Stack's, 4/1966), lot 893, $3,500; Bowers and Merena (11/2001), lot 253, unsold; Stack's (6/2002), lot 65; American Numismatic Rarities (1/2004), lot 452, unsold; FUN Signature (1/2014), lot 5408, unsold; Jim LaSarre; purchased privately on June 25, 2014.
From The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles.
Coin Index Numbers: (Variety PCGS# 519867, Base PCGS# 8075)
Weight: 8.75 grams
Metal: 91.67% Gold, 8.33% Copper
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.
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Auction Info
2026 January 8 US Coins Signature Auction - FUN Special Sessions: Ellsworth & Jacobson #1389 (go to Auction Home page)
Proxy Bidding Ends
January
8th
Thursday
3:50 pm CT
Auction Dates
January
8th
Thursday
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7 Days
10h 39m 11s
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Signature® Floor Session - Platinum Session - The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles (Live Floor, Live Phone, Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live):
(Lots 1001-1068) - 4:00 PM Central Time, Thursday, January 8, 2026 (5:00 PM Eastern Time).
[Proxy bidding ends ten minutes prior to the session start time. Live Proxy bidding on Heritage Live now starts within 2 hours of when the auction opens for proxy bidding and continues through the live session.]
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Additional Location Info:
Orange County Convention Center
North/South Building
9400 Universal Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32819
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