LOT #1009 |
Current Bid: $4,300
1797 $5 Small Eagle, 16 Stars, BD-4, High R.8, AU58+ PCGS....
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Description
1797 BD-4 Half Eagle, AU58+
Unique Small Eagle, 16 Stars Die Marriage
Ex: Seavey, Parmelee, Reed, Bass
'Great Unsung Rarity'
1797 $5 Small Eagle, 16 Stars, BD-4, High R.8, AU58+ PCGS.
HBJ-209. Ex: Harry W. Bass Collection. This Plus-graded
near-Mint specimen exhibits just a trace of friction on the high
points of the strongly impressed design elements, and almost all
interior detail remains intact. Unusually, the first star overlaps
the hair, indicating it was especially deeply punched. The pleasing
orange-gold surfaces are lightly abraded, with vibrant mint luster
on both sides. A minor planchet flaw near Liberty's nose serves as
a pedigree marker. Overall eye appeal is outstanding. The student
of early gold die varieties will find no suitable replacement for
this spectacular early gold rarity, once this lot has passed. This
coin is pictured on PCGS CoinFacts and is the plate coin in Early
U.S. Gold Coin Varieties, A Study of Die States 1795-1834. The
successful bidder will become just the sixth collector to own this
coin since the 1860s.Variety Equivalents: Adams unlisted, Breen unlisted (12-L), Hilt 13-J, Miller-20, Bass-3048.
Obverse Die: Two varieties are known as 1797 16 Stars, Small Eagle half eagles and they are both from a single obverse die.
Reverse Die: The reverse die is found only in this die combination.
Bass-Dannreuther Die State a/b: A reverse die crack from the lower wreath crosses the eagle's breast and wing, and into the field above the palm branch.
PCGS Population Data (10/25): For all four 1797 Small Eagle half eagle varieties, PCGS has certified seven pieces as AU58, this lone AU58+, and two others graded MS61.
Significant Examples: This is the only known example.
Breen (1966): This variety was unknown to Walter Breen who recognized the obverse die of his 12-K die marriage attributed today as BD-3. Breen cited this coin that went from Parmelee to Byron Reed in his monograph but was unaware of the different reverse die. Only the obverse was plated in the Parmelee catalog, and it is unlikely that Breen saw the coin in person.
Bass-Dannreuther (2006): While known since the late 1860s, the proper identification as a new gold half eagle variety had to wait until 1972 when Robert P. Hilt, II examined this coin at Omaha's Durham Western Heritage Museum. John W. Dannreuther's admiration of this important half eagle is clear from his comment in Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties, A Study of Die States 1795-1834: "This variety is among the great, unsung rarities of all half eagles, with a single confirmed example. This ties it with the five other unique early half eagle varieties as the rarest of the rare!" Since he wrote those words in 2006, two new varieties have surfaced, bringing the list of unique varieties to eight. Two of those unique varieties, both also dated 1797 (BD-5 and BD-6), are held in the Smithsonian Institution while a second example of another (1828/7 BD-2) was recently identified. Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. brought the others together in a single collection that is offered here.
Heritage Commentary: Although unknown in gold until its identification in the Byron Reed Collection, the die combination was previously known solely from a copper pattern attributed as Judd-24. The unique copper die trial was defaced at the Mint to prevent counterfeiting, as it would have been easy to gild the copper piece to pass as a legitimate half eagle at a time when five dollars was still a lot of money. Despite several blunt chisel blows on both the obverse and reverse of the coin, enough detail survives to identify the BD-4 dies. This coin first surfaced in lot 7 of the George D. Woodside Collection (New York Coin & Stamp, 4/1892), and it has appeared in several important pattern collections over the years. It was not listed in the Adams and Woodin pattern reference in 1913, but both Dr. Judd and Andrew Pollock included this piece in their series references, and USPatterns.com gives a detailed description of this unique specimen. Thus, through a remarkable sequence of haphazard events, the dies used to strike the unique 1797 BD-4 half eagle were known to numismatists for almost a century before the gold variety was first identified. The Judd-24 copper pattern appeared in our auction of the Queller Family Collection in 2009.
Doug Winter Commentary: Here is a coin with everything going for it. It is unique, so you can't get much rarer than that; it's actually quite nice and it has a mile-long pedigree going back to a few years after the Civil War and littered with numismatic luminaries such as Parmelee, Byron Reed, and Harry Bass. I know this was one of Harvey's most cherished coins and it will hopefully end up with some new collector who will use it as a centerpiece of their early gold set.
Provenance: Possibly George F. Seavey, exhibited to the Boston Numismatic Society, along with the rest of his collection, on February 4, 1869; Seavey Descriptive Catalog (William Strobridge, 6/1873), lot 274; Lorin G. Parmelee, who purchased Seavey's collection intact, before the auction took place; Parmelee Collection (New York Coin & Stamp, 6/1890), lot 737; Byron Reed; City of Omaha, Nebraska; Durham Western Heritage Museum; Byron Reed Collection (Christie's/Spink America, 10/1996), lot 99; Harry W. Bass, Jr.; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection, exhibited at the Edward C. Rochette Money Museum at ANA Headquarters in Colorado Springs until 2022; Central States Signature (Heritage, 5/2023), lot 4536.
From The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles.
Coin Index Numbers: (Variety PCGS# 519866, Base PCGS# 8068, Greysheet# 198177)
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.
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
Proxy Bidding Time Remaining
15 Days
7h 40m 34s
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 8
Lot Tracking Activity: 45
Page Views: 255
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
22% of the successful bid (minimum $29) per lot.
This lot is in: 1 -
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.]
Exhibition Viewing Times, Title Page, Floor Session and License Information
Additional Location Info:
Orange County Convention Center
North/South Building
9400 Universal Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32819
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