1834 $5 With Motto, Plain 4, BD-3, High R.7, AU58 NGC....

Description

1834 Plain 4 Capped Head Half Eagle, AU58
Extremely Rare BD-3 Variety

1834 $5 With Motto, Plain 4, BD-3, High R.7, AU58 NGC. HBJ-266. This piece displays well-struck motifs for the type, although several stars and the eagle's left (facing) wing are a trifle soft. Light handling marks accompany the grade, while some semiprooflike reflectivity is yet visible in the protected regions of the fields. A few tiny ticks along Liberty's jaw serve as pedigree identifiers.
Variety Equivalents: Adams unlisted, Breen I-2, Miller-170, Bass-3167.
Obverse Die: This Plain 4 obverse die is found on 1834 BD-1 and BD-3.
Reverse Die: The reverse die was used for 1834 BD-2 and 1834 BD-3.
Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/c: The obverse is cracked from the bust tip to star 1. The reverse is cracked from the arrow points below ICA to 5D.
NGC Census Data (10/25): The NGC data reports seven 1834 Capped Bust half eagles in AU58 and 22 numerically finer submissions for all four varieties.
Significant Examples: This example is the second finest of three known 1834 BD-3 half eagles.
Breen (1966): Regarding this variety, Breen observed: "Clapp knew of it only from H.P. Smith 226. This may be a reappearance of Parmelee 1030, which is described as having a cracked die. (The crack does not show on the plate, and is probably very faint.) Probably R-8."
Bass-Dannreuther (2006): The Motto issues of 1834 are very popular with collectors and they represent the last of the old tenor gold coins. The romance associated with these coins, combined with their rarity and the uniqueness of each obverse and reverse die, make them irresistible."
Heritage Commentary: Our extensive search of past auction records shows just three examples of this die marriage. Beginning with the Heritage Permanent Auction Archives and the Stack's Bowers online archive, we added in other auction appearances from PCGS CoinFacts, Andrew Pollock's survey, the present catalogers own survey from two decades ago, examples mentioned in the Bass-Dannreuther book, the Robert Miller book, and the Breen monographs. Finally, we added in those appearances recorded in the David Akers analysis of auction records that was published in 1979. The result is a long list of auction appearances for 1834 Capped Head half eagles. Each of those was examined in original catalogs with plates attributed for variety. From there, the individual plates were compared with others to find multiple appearances of individual examples.
Doug Winter Commentary: Can you imagine being a young(er) coin dealer with a great 1834 Fat Head half eagle proudly displayed in your showcase when up walks Harvey Jacobsen in his finest Italian sportswear asking if he can view the coin. He looks at it intently for around five minutes all the while referring to his notes. He eventually hands it back to you and says "nice coin but I'm looking for a BD-1...I already have a BD-3." The kid is found two hours later curled in a fetal position near the snack bar semi-comatose with drool coming out of his mouth muttering "BD-1...BD-1.....BD-1.........."
Provenance: Gilbert Steinberg Collection (Superior, 9/1996), lot 2265; Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 6/2020), lot 3204.
From The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles.

Coin Index Numbers: (Variety PCGS# 519957, Base PCGS# 8160, Greysheet# 198944)

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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