1810 $5 Small Date, Tall 5, BD-1, High R.3, AU53 PCGS....
Description
1810 BD-1 Half Eagle, AU53
Small Date, Tall 5
1810 $5 Small Date, Tall 5, BD-1, High R.3, AU53 PCGS.
HBJ-242. Extraordinary peripheral orange toning appears on
this nicely detailed AU example with rich green overtones at the
central obverse and reverse. Light high-point rub is consistent
with the grade. Trivial rim disturbances are inconsequential.Variety Equivalents: Adams-3, Breen 2-D, Miller-114, Bass-3120.
Obverse Die: The obverse is unique to this die marriage.
Reverse Die: The reverse is unique to this die marriage for 1810 half eagles and reappears for 1811 BD-1.
Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/b: A die crack joins stars 3 through 6. The obverse die lumps of state c are not evident. The reverse is apparently lapped removing the clash marks of state b.
PCGS Population Data (10/25): PCGS has certified six 1810 Small Date, Tall 5 half eagles in AU53 and 73 finer examples.
Significant Examples: A roster of the top 10 examples of this variety, graded MS63 through MS65, was published in our May 2023 sale of the Bass Core Collection.
Breen (1966): Breen described five varieties: Breen 1-A is BD-4; Breen 1-B is BD-3; Breen 2-B is BD-2; Breen 2-D is also BD-1. The variety that Breen labeled 2-C likely does not exist. He cited: "The Sleicher-Ryder coin, reappearing as Melish 1919; and the Gozan coin." No further information about either coin is known today.
Bass-Dannreuther (2006): "This variety seems to have been struck on at least two occasions, as the dies are both found without and with rust lumps. This indicates there was a production run, the dies were removed and improperly stored, and then they were used again for other production."
Heritage Commentary: Walter Breen noted that a single Small Date obverse die was used for both the BD-1 and BD-2 half eagles, cataloging the varieties as 2-D and 2-B, respectively, although those dies are clearly different. In the Harry W. Bass Museum Sylloge, published in 2001, the authors noted: "This is the variety described by Walter Breen as 2-D, although the obverse is clearly different from obverse 2 in number 3119, above. A quick glance at the position of star 1 will suffice to distinguish between these obverse dies."
Doug Winter Commentary: There were much bigger fish to fry for this year (the Small Date, Small 5 and the Large Date, Small 5) which meant that Harvey didn't care to pursue the two common varieties in supergrades.
Provenance: York Collection (Stack's Bowers, 8/2018), lot 1265.
From The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles.
Coin Index Numbers: (Variety PCGS# 507596, Base PCGS# 8106, Greysheet# 374042)
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
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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.]
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Additional Location Info:
Orange County Convention Center
North/South Building
9400 Universal Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32819
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