1795 $5 Small Eagle, BD-3, High R.3, AU55 PCGS....

Description

1795 BD-3 Small Eagle Five Dollar, AU55
Important First Year of the Denomination

1795 $5 Small Eagle, BD-3, High R.3, AU55 PCGS. Bass-Dannreuther Die State c/b. Yellow-gold surfaces are complemented with silver highlights. There are no notable abrasions, but small marks under the R in LIBERTY and opposite star 11 serve only as pedigree markers. Slight weakness is present on the uppermost strands of hair on the obverse, where the reverse shows partial weakness on the neck and head.

This lovely survivor represents the inaugural year of half eagle production, and the first year of gold coin production at the U.S. Mint in general. As U.S. coin collectors know, the Mint and Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 required Chief Coiner Henry Voigt and Assayer Albion Cox to each post a surety bond of $10,000 before gold or silver coins could be struck. However, this was an exorbitant amount of money for the time, and neither man could pay their bond. The Alteration of the Mint Act, signed by President Washington on March 3, 1794, reduced the bonds to $5,000 for Voigt and $1,000 for Cox, but these new quantities were still too expensive. According to early Mint researcher David Finkelstein, Voigt's surety bond was posted on April 4, 1794 by Speaker of the House Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Congressman Peter Muhlenberg, Philadelphia paper manufacturer Henry Kammerer, and another Pennsylvania Congressman, Nicholas Lutz. Six days later, Cox's surety bond was posted by Philadelphia merchant Charles Gilchrist. After that, silver and gold coin production preparations were underway. The U.S. Mint's first silver coins were the famous 1794 dollars, of which 1,758 were delivered on October 15, 1794. Gold had to wait until July 31, 1795, when the delivery of 744 half eagles kicked off production of U.S. coinage in that metal.

All told, twelve die marriages of 1795 half eagles were minted with the original Small Eagle design type, although production outlasted the calendar year of 1795. The present BD-3 is the most common of these die marriages by a substantial margin. Neither die experienced substantial deterioration during its lifetime, with some rim damage opposite the E in UNITED representing the only observed difference between early and late strikes. No terminal die state is known, and this rim damage is not substantial enough to warrant discarding the reverse die, so a terminal die state may still be awaiting discovery. Considering the important historical nature of the issue, as well as the relative availability for the variety, this beautiful survivor is a prime candidate for a type collection.
From The Texas Republic Ranch Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25ND, Variety PCGS# 519852, Base PCGS# 8066, Greysheet# 198165)

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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