1839 $10 LG LETTERS

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Jan 5, 2001 for:

Not Sold

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

Stellar 1839/8 Liberty Eagle, A Significant Gold Rarity

1839/8 $10 Type of 1838 MS 63 PCGS. After a delivery of 3,757 Capped Bust Right, Heraldic Eagle examples in 1804, President Thomas Jefferson halted eagle production. Like the silver dollar, production of which was also suspended by Jefferson's order, the eagle was worth so much as bullion that most examples were exported shortly after they left the Mint. The result was an alarming drain on the nation's supply of circulating bullion.
In 1838, Secretary of the Treasury Levi Woodbury instructed Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson to resume production of this denomination. The 34 years between 1804 and 1838 saw the passage of two Mint Acts that altered the weight and fineness of every gold denomination so that the coins would remain in domestic circulation. Christian Gobrecht prepared a new design for the obverse of the eagle: a bust of Liberty facing left that was based on Benjamin West's painting Omnia Vincit Amor. Gobrecht adopted the reverse of his eagle from that of John Reich's Capped Bust half dollar, without the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM in the upper field. Using this design, the Philadelphia Mint delivered 7,200 coins at the end of 1838.
Production resumed on March 30, 1839 using an old 1838-dated obverse with a 9 engraved over the final 8. A total of 25,801 eagles were delivered between that date and June 29, most of which probably did not display the underdigit. The next delivery of eagles would have to wait until October 30 of this year, by which time Gobrecht had redesigned the obverse portrait.
The present example is a simply stunning coin whose importance stems from its status as a two-year type. Furthermore, Breen (1988) also states that only the earliest coins from 1839/8 die pair display remnants of the underdigit along the right side of the 9 in the date. This feature is visible on this coin, although not without the aid of a loupe. The famed numismatic scholar also states that this overdate variety is "...unobtainable Unc." Current population data from NGC and PCGS, however, shows 15 1838/9 eagles in grades that range from MS 60 through MS 66 (7/00). Nevertheless, there is no doubt in our minds that the present example is unquestionably rare from both absolute and condition standpoints. The central features on both sides are crisply defined, and the peripheral definition, although slightly weak on the obverse, does include partial radial lines on the stars. The color is a rich, reddish-gold shade that provides awe-inspiring eye appeal. There are a few scattered abrasions, none of which are unduly bothersome for the grade. An extraordinary coin in all regards, and a highlight of the gold offerings in this sale.
From the Bob Bisanz U.S. Type Set.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 262E, PCGS# 8576, GSID# 9357)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 16.72 grams
AGW: 0.48375oz
Mintage: 25,801

View Certification Details from PCGS