1803/2 $5 MS(PCGS#8084)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

3124

Erhaltungsgrad

MS61

Preis

22.800

Losbeschreibung

BD Die State d/a. Housed in its Generation 5.0 NGC holder, this splendid coin offers uncommon originality and premium quality in a BU early half eagle. Crusty surfaces exhibit subtle olive undertones to dominant deep gold color. Hints of deeper russet engaging the lettering along the left reverse border are associated with ancient surface build up that speaks further to the awesome originality of this piece. We note only minor evidence of cabinet friction, as well as a few wispy hairlines that also confirm light, ancient numismatic handling, but there are surprisingly few marks or other sizeable blemishes. Accuracy alone compels us to mention a trivial graze in the left obverse field, inside 5, and an equally minor carbon spot in the right reverse field, below the letter A in AMERICA. Minor adjustment marks (as made) are confined to the denticulation along the right obverse border, a few lighter ones approach the stars and penetrate into Liberty's cap and the letter L along the left and at the upper borders, but both sides are well struck for the type with most feature sharply defined and crisp. Mentionable softness is confined to the reverse, at the eagle's right talon and the arrows that it clutches. A simply outstanding example of both the type and issue, far superior to the assigned grade, and a poster example of the wisdom embodied in the oft-repeated piece of numismatic advice: "Buy the coin, not the holder."<p>The early dates of the Philadelphia Mint are full of examples of getting the most out of the limited quantities of die steel on hand, and gold coins were not exempt from such cost-saving measures. The 1803/2 half eagle is just such an issue; both of the two obverse dies have the overdate, therefore there is not one single 1803-dated half eagle that lacks the overdate. Four die marriages using two obverse and three reverse dies have been identified. The two obverse dies were originally intended for the 1802 half eagles but for unknown reasons they were never used with that date, so the following year they were both recut to 1803 and put into use. The two obverses are most easily identified by examining the T in LIBERTY. The obverse die used in the first three die pairs, including the BD-3 as here, shows a T with a broken lower right serif while the final die pair used employs an obverse with a perfectly formed T. The BD-3 reverse can be distinguished by examining the proximity of the lower left-most star; here it is very close to the eagle's beak almost as if to bite it. Early mint records are sometimes open to interpretation: the official number of half eagles delivered in 1803 is 33,506 pieces, though Bass & Dannreuther indicate that this figure also includes perhaps 1,000 1804-dated coins. The availability of the four varieties of 1803/2 half eagle are roughly equivalent, with around 125 to 175 coins remaining of the estimated 6,000 to 9,000 coined from the BD-3 die pair. A premium Mint State example such as this will certainly attract considerable interest from seasoned numismatists.