1795 $5 Small Eagle MS62 NGC....

Description

Historic 1795 Small Eagle Five Dollar, BD-1, MS62
Likely the First U.S. Gold Coin Variety

1795 $5 Small Eagle MS62 NGC. Breen-6412, BD-1, R.5. This coin is of immense historical importance. Not only is it a high-grade specimen of the first U.S. gold coinage, it is an odds-on favorite as the first of the 12 different varieties of 1795 Small Eagle struck.
Even though the Philadelphia Mint was established in 1793 and struck copper half cents and cents during its first calendar year--the latter in three different styles--the Mint Act of 1792 set an onerous requirement that the treasurer, chief coiner, and assayer each post surety bonds in the amount of $10,000 before coinage of the precious metals, gold and silver, could commence. Congress in 1794 lowered the requirements to $5,000 for the chief coiner and to $1,000 for the assayer, and those lower bonds were paid. But the Mint in its early years (until 1837) had no bullion fund of its own. It produced gold and silver coinage only on demand for depositors of bullion (or foreign coins, also considered just so much bullion). It was late in 1794 before silver dollars were produced on a coinage press of sufficient size. The first deposit of gold for coinage was on July 21, 1795. Accordingly, on July 31 of that year, Warrant 1 was for the production of 744 half eagles, of course dated 1795 and using the Capped Bust to right, Small Eagle motif of designer Robert Scot.
The Bass-Dannreuther early gold reference asserts Harry Bass Jr.'s belief that the BD-1 variety of the present example, included in (or possibly all of) that first delivery of half eagles, signifies the first gold coins produced by the Mint of the United States. In the early days of the Mint, the coinage personnel had not yet learned how to properly harden dies; many of them cracked within a short time after entering production. And dies were used until they failed, regardless of the date they bore.
It took eight obverse dies and nine reverse dies to produce those 12 known varieties of 1795 Small Eagle. A good number of them may have been produced in 1796; the reported mintage of 6,196 half eagles is too high for the single die pairing known for 1796.
The BD-1 die pairing has several characteristics that lead one to reasonably believe it could be the first variety struck, including a wide date, four berries on the reverse (two inside the wreath, two outside), and of course the Small Eagle reverse that later in the year was supplanted by the Large Eagle varieties (BD-12 through BD-15). On the obverse the flag of the 5 in the date is embedded in Liberty's lower drapery, while a point of star 15 is into the front of the bustline. Star 11 is clearly separated from the Y in LIBERTY, and BERTY is repunched. Bass-Dannreuther notes, "Rust on both dies may be due to the delay in striking gold coins, noted elsewhere, due to the high bonds that had to be reduced and posted by three Mint officials."
On this piece the die rust is prominent (although, of course, not grade-affecting) in the lower and rear hair curls, the lower drapery, and the left (facing) field on the obverse, and on the reverse as a small patch of roughness above and right of the F in OF. A loupe also reveals a few light, scattered contact marks that account for the grade, although only a thin scrape behind Liberty's head, near the cap tip, requires mention. The yellow-gold surfaces reveal considerable field reflectivity and frosted devices, yielding a moderate prooflike effect. The eye appeal of this coin is every bit as high as its historical importance.
From The Laredo Collection.(Registry values: P5)

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

Metal: 91.67% Gold, 8.33% Copper
Weight: 8.75 grams
AGW: 0.25789oz
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.

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