1802/1 $2 1/2 MS62 NGC....

Description

Wonderful 1802/1 Quarter Eagle, MS62
Possible Finest-Known Example of BD-2

1802/1 $2 1/2 MS62 NGC. Ex: Ed Price Collection. Breen-6118, BD-2, High R.5. Among the cleverest innovations from the early days of the U.S. Mint was the dual use of reverse dies--lacking any denomination stamped on them--for both silver dimes and gold quarter eagles. The silver dimes premiered in 1796 with the Draped Bust, Small Eagle design. Gold quarter eagles appeared that same year, sporting the Capped Bust to Right obverse with a Heraldic Eagle reverse. The dual-purpose dies were used from 1797 until 1807, the year that John Reich was first employed at the Mint as assistant engraver. The first known use spans the 1797-98 period, with the 1797 BD-1 quarter eagle and the 1798 JR-1 dime. In that 11-year period, there were seven reverse dies used for both denominations, producing a total of 23 separate dime and quarter die marriages--11 quarter eagles, 12 dimes.
Famed collector Ed Price was fascinated by these dual-use dies and assembled complete die variety sets of both denominations--the only collector who has ever accomplished that goal. The reverse of the present BD-2 quarter eagle was also used to produce the BD-1 1804 13 Stars quarter eagle, and the 1802 JR-4 and 1804 13 Stars JR-1 dimes.
This quarter eagle variety--like all three for the year--is usually identified as an overdate, but Garrett and Guth comment that "the attribution is tentative and the '1,' which is barely visible (even under magnification), may be just an artifact." Bass and Dannreuther write, "The fact that there were no quarter eagles dated 1799, 1800, or 1801 should lend credence to the overdate status of the 1802, but most researchers have come to the conclusion that whatever is under the 2 is not the vestige of a 1."
Of the three 1802 quarter eagle die varieties, the BD-2 is by far the rarest (estimated 30-25 known). This piece is likely the finest known for the variety. As we wrote in the Ed Price Collection, this piece is "A wonderful example with brilliant green-gold luster on both sides. The obverse is frosty, and the reverse is satiny with reflective fields. A few scattered marks are entirely insignificant. Like most 1802 quarter eagles, the central obverse and reverse design elements are weak. This is possibly the only Mint State example of the variety known."
Ex: Bowers and Merena (11/2002), lot 3064; The Ed Price Collection of Early Dime and Quarter Eagle Varieties (Heritage, 7/2008), lot 1457, which realized $40,250.(Registry values: P6)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25F6, PCGS# 7650, GSID# 8251)

Metal: 91.67% Gold, 8.33% Copper
Weight: 4.37 grams
AGW: 0.1288oz
Mintage: 3,035

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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