1795 $5 BD-15, Large Eagle MS(PCGS#519869)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3289

Grade

AU58

Price

96,000

Lot Description

Coins with superlatives are always popular and special: the first, the biggest, the rarest. So too are exceptions, the kinds of issues that stick out from rather than blend into the morass of a broader series. Thus, it's easy to understand why this issue has been desirable since the 1860s, when many of its kin were little more than pocket change.<p>The 1795 Heraldic Eagle $5 is an anachronism, a hoverboard-riding half eagle whose back from the future reverse will forever mark is as more interesting than most of its ilk. It is the earliest of the Heraldic Eagle $5s, the last of the 1795 half eagles, and the only 1795-dated denomination to be found with this reverse type that made its debut in 1796.<p>The surfaces are medium yellow gold, rich with peripheral toning on both sides that displays a fine coppery rose. The fields are somewhat reflective and both sides show strong luster. Both obverse and reverse are ideally centered and fully struck, a feat considering the state of both of these dies. The obverse shows a long die crack through the portrait of Liberty, extending from beyond the tip of her cap, traveling through her hair, and forking below her ear. The base of the reverse die is essentially shattered, with arcs of cracks through UN and RICA that converge and focus at the eagle's tail. These and other aspects of this coin's manufacture invite magnified scrutiny and study, a calling that won't be interrupted by flaws or damage. Indeed, this piece's grade reflects its premium nature, with few distractions to note on either side. There are some gentle hairlines on either surface, some scattered trivial contact marks, and just a hint of a mostly obliterated planchet adjustment at the central reverse that the firm strike rendered nearly invisible. The visual appeal is excellent for the grade and excellent for the issue.<p>A 1795 Heraldic Eagle $5 is not a coin for an amateur. It's the kind of coin sought out by an educated devotee of the half eagle series. This denomination, more than most, attracts advanced specialists. The denomination was struck with few gaps from 1795 through 1916 before one final issue in 1929, with production at eight different mints over that span. The Philadelphia Mint struck its first gold coins in 1795, delivering the first half eagles on July 31 and the first eagles on September 22. While the first United States gold coin ever struck was a 1795 half eagle, it wasn't this one. The 8,707 examples delivered in 1795 were undoubtedly all of the Small Eagle type, but enough obverse dies were manufactured that year to last well beyond the calendar's turn to 1796 - and beyond. Dies were precious things, difficult to make and sometimes fragile beyond expectations, so the efficient Philadelphians who ran our first Mint would not be swayed into wasting their efforts based upon the date punched onto a die.<p>It's likely this coin, and the other 1795 half eagles with a Heraldic Eagle reverse, were struck in 1797 or 1798. Though very rare as a major variety, three different die marriages of the 1795 Large Eagle or Heraldic Eagle half eagles exist. This die marriage is the most plentiful of them, though the Bass-Dannreuther book estimates that just 30 to 35 examples are known. The other two 1795 Heraldic Eagle varieties share a reverse and both are extremely rare. BD-13 is known by just a single surviving specimen, while BD-14 has a population estimated at just 14 to 18 coins. Only a half dozen or so coins from this die marriage survive in Mint State grades.<p>The sophistication level required to appreciate how special this anachronistic rarity is means examples generally turn up only when major collections are sold. The provenances of other specimens of this type include many of the great names among 20th century United States gold specialists, but we don't know of another example with a published provenance that extends further than this one. Byron Reed's collection was given to the City of Omaha upon his death in 1891. He was an aggressive bidder in major auctions for two decades, but he perhaps exerted himself most successfully at the legendary June 1890 sale of the Lorin G. Parmelee collection. Cataloged as "very fine, very rare," Reed paid $40 for the coin. Its reverse is photographically illustrated on Plate 11 in the Parmelee sale catalog, depicted alongside a Brasher doubloon, the unique Washington President pattern in gold, and some of the most important United States gold coins and patterns ever sold.<p>It's likely Parmelee got this coin when he purchased the world-class cabinet of George A. Seavey intact in 1873. The published listing of the collection, accomplished at the time of its sale to Parmelee by dealer William Strobridge, listed two 1795 half eagles in the cabinet, one with Heraldic Eagle and one with Small Eagle. Seavey's gold coin cabinet was considered complete by 1864, which means between the Civil War and 1996, this coin had graced just three cabinets and had only one auction appearance. The opportunity to buy it today should not be underestimated.