1810 $5 BD-3, Large Date, Small 5 MS(PCGS#507597)

August 2018 ANA U.S. Coins Auction Philadelphia, PA

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1267

Grade

VF25

Price

78,000

Lot Description

Extraordinary Rarity 1810 Large Date, Small 5 Half Eagle The Pogue Specimen One of Only Three Known 1810 Capped Bust Left Half Eagle. BD-3. Rarity-8. Large Date, Small 5. VF-25 (PCGS). The exceptional rarity and significance of the present coin is concealed in its degree of preservation. The surfaces are light yellow, with tiny marks over most of both sides. Despite the wear and handling, the eye appeal remains positive, and this coin exhibits better originality than most of this type in Very Fine. A shallow scrape from the field right of star 2 across Liberty’s bust is the most significant flaw, although it also serves as a useful identifier. Overall, an engaging presentation of a great American rarity. The reverse die state is later than the previous lot and later than the terminal state of Bass Dannreuther-2; this combination thus follows BD-2 in the emission sequence. A light crack connects the tops of UNITED and runs across the denomination, then joins all the letters of AMERICA, with the crack through AME traversing each letter along a diagonal path through its midpoint. An additional crack from the rim near the base of the reverse closely parallels the outline of the rightmost olive leaf before reaching the lowest claw of the talon at left. The substantial spalling eruption near the points of the top two olive leaves remains from the previous marriage of this die. The obverse appears perfect. When assembling his superlative cabinet, D. Brent Pogue did not acquire many circulated coins, but the ones he did are some of its greatest rarities. Choice Mint State specimens of many of the rarest American coins simply have not survived. The 1810 Large Date, Small 5 half eagle is one such rarity. It is remarkable in any grade, with a total confirmed population of only three pieces, just two of which are in private hands. Even the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, replete with gold rarities from the Lilly Collection, lacks this variety. The finest 1810 Large Date, Small 5 half eagle is the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection coin, generally considered About Uncirculated but presently uncertified and impounded in the American Numismatic Association museum. That coin may have been the example that was offered in the January 1963 Federal Brand Enterprises Million Dollar Auction Sale. Another was offered the same month in the January 1963 Kreisberg-Schulman Golden Sale of the Century. Neither was illustrated, but assuming the attributions of those pieces are correct (an admitted leap of faith), the twin 1963 appearances represented the last examples of this variety to appear at auction for over a decade. The primary Bass coin was offered in both 1976 and 1977; Bass acquired it from our (Bowers and Ruddy's) Fairfield Collection sale of October 1977. The Bass duplicate was purchased from Auction '80, part of a four-coin set of 1810 half eagle varieties assembled by George Gozan, and sold in our (Bowers and Merena's) October 1999 Bass II sale. It reappeared in the January 2012 Heritage sale and today resides in a Washington, D.C. collection. In 1999, the Bass duplicate was described as "brushed in a manner to simulate mint luster," a foible that precluded a numerical certified grade in 1999, though today the coin is certified VF-30 by PCGS. Besides the two coins owned by Harry W. Bass, Jr., the Pogue specimen is the only other confirmed survivor from these dies. David W. Akers identified two appearances of this variety in well worn condition, one in B. Max Mehl's 1944 Belden Roach sale, the other in our (Stack's) 1955 Farish Baldenhofer sale. The first was graded Very Good, the second Fine. Another appearance, not cited by Akers, was lot 2384 in the March 1964 Kreisberg-Schulman Brand-Lichtenfels sale, graded "Fine to Very Fine." While none of these three offerings was illustrated, given the well circulated grade we suspect this example accounts for all three appearances. The two Mint State pieces on the PCGS Population Reportare misattributions; no Mint State example of this variety has ever been seen or rumored. The sometimes-cited example in the Superior sale of February 2000 was misattributed and was not this variety. With just two examples confirmed in private hands, and rumors of a third repaired coin that has not been certified, this is the key to completing a set of this design type by major variety, as listed by PCGS or the Guide Book. Just four coins are needed, two of them comparatively common, while the other two are very rare (the Small Date, Small 5) and extremely rare (the Large Date, Small 5). Only a select group of collectors have ever assembled a complete set of 1810 half eagles by variety, a feat that not even the great William H. Woodin or Waldo Newcomer was able to accomplish. This is a singular opportunity to join that rarified group of dedicated early gold connoisseurs. Provenance: From the York Collection. Earlier from our (Stack’s) Americana Sale of January 2006, lot 3020, via Paul Nugget; our sale of the D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part III, February 2016, lot 3139. The plate coin for the issue on page 39 of the 1979 book, United States Gold Coins, An Analysis of Auction Records. Volume IV: Half Eagles 1795-1929, by David W. Akers. PCGS Population : 1; 1 finer (VF-30). PCGS# 507597. Click here for certification details from PCGS.