1808 $2 1/2 BD-1, R.4, MS63 NGC....

Description

1808 Quarter Eagle, BD-1, MS63
Tied for Second Finest Known
Important One-Year Design Type
#89 of the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins

1808 $2 1/2 BD-1, R.4, MS63 NGC. This example has even yellow-gold color throughout with none of the reddish patina often seen on early gold. The fields are bright, as expected on an issue with a mintage as low as the 1808 quarter eagle. No notable abrasions are present on the reverse. The obverse contains just a few that are useful for pedigree purposes only: a rim depression at 3:30, several shallow vertical marks on Liberty's jawline, and scrape extending rightwards from the second 8 in the date. This example presents the same unusual striking pattern as on all quarter eagles: strong central details on both sides with an irregular rim. Breen (1988) commented on this peculiarity:

"All survivors ... show excessively narrow borders, usually incomplete. This must have been seen as a design flaw conducive to rapid wear on both sides, as on the half-dollar revs. of 1836-37 and the 1861 S Paquet double eagles. Predictably, survivors are in lower grades than those of earlier dates lacking this problem."

He goes on to describe the usually seen 1808 quarter eagle: "Most are weak on wingtips and tops of letters; all are weak on parts of borders; all have some stars flat." That pattern, while still present on this coin, is less prominent than Breen states. Rim weakness is present on the right side of the obverse and the right side of the reverse directly opposite it. However, it hardly effects the design elements, just grazing star 11 and MER of AMERICA and providing the slightest amount of weakness on the right wing tip.

The 1808 quarter eagle was, along with the cent, part of the second group of denominations to receive the Capped Bust Left redesign, after the half dollar and half eagle the prior year. The obverse design would only grace the quarter eagle for this issue, while the reverse design would run largely unchanged through the end of the Liberty Head coinage in 1907.

The Mint only struck a trifling 2,710 examples of the 1808 quarter eagle, making it a one-year type and a classic rarity in the U.S. series. It also represented the last quarter eagle production until 1821. The unpopularity of this denomination sentenced it to sporadic production -- it was too small for bank transactions or international trade when the same payment could occur with half the number of half eagles, and was too large for daily commerce in an era where even daily wages were significantly less than $2.50 for most Americans. As a result, mintages only occurred when depositors specifically requested quarter eagles, which led to low-mintage issues with frequent gaps in between.

The 1808 and 1796 No Stars quarter eagles are virtually tied for the status of "rarest U.S. gold type coin." Bass-Dannreuther place both at R.4, estimating 125-150 pieces known of the former and 104-131 of the latter. However, the 1808 is also more conditionally elusive grade for grade than the 1796 No Stars, of which there are numerous high-grade survivors. In MS62 or finer, we have only traced twelve 1808 quarter eagles, and in MS63 or finer, the population dwindles to half that. The finest is a single MS65, formerly in the collections of J. Hewitt Judd and Congressman Jimmy Hayes. After that are five MS63 examples, including the present example, tying it for second finest known. Certification data supports this assertion: PCGS lists one in 65 (the Judd-Hayes coin) and one in 63, and NGC lists five certifications in 63 atop its census (11/25). This lot presents the type collector with a rare opportunity to acquire this one-year emission in high Condition Census quality.
Ex: Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 2/2012), lot 4620; Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/2012), lot 5211; ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2012), lot 5286.

1808 BD-1 Quarter Eagle, (the only known die pair) Condition Census
1. MS65 PCGS. Lorin G. Parmelee Collection (New York Coin & Stamp Co., 6/1890), lot 856; John Story Jenks Collection (Henry Chapman, 12/1921), lot 5792; "Colonel" E.H.R. Green Collection; (B. Max Mehl, 5/1950), lot 11; Dr. J. Hewitt Judd Collection; Dr. Herbert Ketterman Collection, sold privately in 1982; James A. "Jimmy" Hayes Collection; Auction '84 (Stack's, 7/1984), lot 1372, $99,000; Auction '89 (David W. Akers, 7/1989), lot 1361, $231,000; D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part I (Stack's Bowers & Sotheby's, 5/2015), lot 1128, $2,350,000.
2. MS63 PCGS CAC. Atlanta Signature (Heritage, 8/2001), lot 7585, $73,600; Oliver Jung Collection (American Numismatic Rarities, 7/2004), lot 84, $322,000; (Stack's, 3/2007), lot 1441, $425,500; (Stack's, 11/2008), lot 4176, $517,500; Bob R. Simpson Collection (Heritage, 9/2020), lot 10122, $576,000.
3. MS63 NGC. Auction '90 (Superior, 8/1990), lot 1252, $77,000; ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2012), lot 5286, $223,250. The present offering.
4. MS63 NGC. Springdale Collection (Superior, 5/2006), lot 992, $218,500; (Bowers and Merena, 11/2010), lot 4781, $316,250.
5. MS63 NGC. Purchased privately from Kevin Lipton in February 2006; The Bayfield Collection / Dallas Signature (Heritage, 11/2023), lot 3120.
6. MS63 NGC. Larry H. Miller Collection (Stack's Bowers, 12/2020), lot 1115, $276,000.
7. MS62 PCGS. Abner Kreisberg (3/1972), lot 1163; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation Collection (HBCC# 3017), exhibited at the Dwight Manley Money Museum at ANA headquarters until 2022; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection, Part II (Heritage, 1/2023), lot 9006, realized $372,000.
8. MS62 PCGS CAC. Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 8/2004), lot 1433, $207,000; FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2007), lot 3392, $287,500; Madison Collection / FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2008), lot 3069, $322,000; Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/2009), lot 2672, not sold.
9. MS62 PCGS. ANA Sale (Heritage, 7/1993), lot 7288, $33,000.
10. MS62 PCGS. " ... from an old Henry Chapman sale"; Richard Picker; Public Coin Auction (Stack's, 6/2001), lot 350, $43,700.
11. MS62 NGC. Stack's Bowers (11/2019), lot 3134, realized $174,000.
12. Brilliant Uncirculated Uncertified. 60th Anniversary Sale (Stack's, 10/1995), lot 1431, $33,000.
From The Presidio Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# BFVZ, Variety PCGS# 45515, Base PCGS# 7660, Greysheet# 74467)

Weight: 4.37 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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