1840-D $5 Small D AU53 PCGS....

Description

Extremely Rare 1840 Small D Half Eagle, AU53

1840-D $5 Small D AU53 PCGS. Variety 4-C. The Small D variety is believed to be quite rare. It was unrecorded in Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia, and not mentioned by Garrett and Guth. Harry Bass, Jr., for example, acquired six different examples of the date, but only two of the six were the Small D variety. The two pieces acquired by Bass were an XF40 with saltwater surfaces (Bowers, 10/1999, lot 890, and not described as a Small D), and an XF40 with abraded surfaces (Bowers, 11/2000, lot 361, described as a Small D). It is also important to mention that the present specimen, identified by PCGS as a Bass coin, is not from that collection.
The 1840-D half eagle presents several difficulties to numismatic students. Walter Breen describes both Broad Mill and Narrow Mill varieties; however, most specialists today feel that the Broad Mill coins are unknown, although Doug Winter left open the possibility of a future discovery: "It is my belief that all 1840-D half eagles have a Narrow Mill [note: the term mill refers to the upset rim outside of the denticulated border of a coin]. However, I think the possibility does exist that there are 1840-D half eagles with a Broad Mill."
This piece is a delightful light yellow-gold example. The surfaces have a few minor abrasions and hairlines, with a slightly more prominent scratch on the cheek. The reverse has a small mark at the right top of M.
The die state of this piece may help to explain its rarity. Both dies were used exclusively for this one variety, and both dies are clearly cracked. The obverse, which also has a recut 184 in the date, is cracked from the border to forehead just above star 5, through the eyebrow and hair curls to the T of LIBERTY, and through the beaded hair cord to star 10 and the rim. The reverse is trisected, with a crack from the border at 10 o'clock to the left facing wing, and through that weak to the upper left shield border. A second crack from the border at 2 o'clock into the right facing wing reaches the right shield border, follows the border down to the bottom shield point, and emerges from the eagle to pass through the mintmark and the lower rim at 6 o'clock.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25SG, PCGS# 8199, GSID# 8959)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 8.36 grams
AGW: 0.24188oz

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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