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.

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