1796/5 $5 BD-1, High R.4, AU50 NGC. Gold CAC....

Description

1796/5 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle, AU50
Small Eagle Reverse, BD-1 Variety
Only Dies for the Date

1796/5 $5 BD-1, High R.4, AU50 NGC. Gold CAC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State a/c, with a relapped reverse. According to Mint records, a small mintage of 6,196 Capped Bust Right half eagles was accomplished in 1796, but present-day numismatists believe many of those coins were dated 1795. Die steel was expensive and hard to come by in that early era, so the Mint continued to use dies as long as they were serviceable, regardless of the calendar year. Only one die variety is known for the date, categorized as BD-1 in the Bass-Dannreuther series reference, and it was struck from an unused obverse die from 1795 that was overdated for that purpose. Similarly, the reverse die was used previously to strike the BD-12 variety of 1795. John Dannreuther estimates this die pair was used to produce 1,057-2,000 pieces of the reported mintage. The 1796/5 half eagle is much more elusive than its 1795 counterpart, with a surviving population of 80-100 examples in all grades.

The 1796 Capped Bust Right half eagle was a favorite of early collectors and examples began appearing at auction at least as early as lot 1942 of the John F. McCoy Sale (W. Elliot Woodward, 5/1864), where the cataloger noted, "1796 Very fine, and extremely rare." The lot realized $21.00, a strong price at the time, to Ohio collector Heman Ely. Auction prices realized have increased exponentially since that time, with examples in AU50 condition bringing as much as $70,500 in recent sales.

The present coin is an impressive AU example, with pleasing orange-gold surfaces that show the expected number of minor abrasions for the grade and retain traces of original mint luster in sheltered areas. Only light wear is evident on the design elements, but some loss of detail is evident, due to lapping (for example, some leaves in the wreath are hollowed out and missing stems). The overall presentation is most attractive for this elusive early gold issue.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# BFWU, Variety PCGS# 519862, Base PCGS# 8067)

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.

View Certification Details from NGC