1803 $10 Small Reverse Stars MS(PCGS#8565)

February 2025 Showcase Auction - U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1206

Grade

MS64

Price

144,000

Lot Description

A lustrous rose-gold prize. Bold cartwheel activity ignites the frosty surfaces while some prooflike reflectivity is present here and there in the fields. Choice for the grade with no marks that assault the unassisted eye. Not a great rarity as a variety, but at MS-64, as here, the rarity and desirability are both undeniable. BD Die State c/d.<p>With up to 200 coins believed extant, BD-3 handily outdistances BD-5 to rank as the most available of the six known die marriages of the 1803 eagle. Given the extant population it is surprising that a terminal reverse die state coin has not been found, leaving us to wonder about the exact nature of the damage that retired this otherwise hardy die. (This reverse had previously struck 30,000 to 40,000 coins in the 1801 BD-2 pairing, followed by 7,500 to 10,000 coins in the 1803 BD-3 marriage represented here - an unusually large number of coins for an early eagle die.) The obverse die, of course, was nearly as hardy, being used for all six varieties of the 1803-dated issue.<p>Given its relative availability, the 1803 BD-3 is one of the more popular type varieties in the Capped Bust Right Eagle series, often selected to represent the Heraldic Eagle reverse design. Of course, no pre-1834 U.S. Mint gold issues or varieties can rightly be called common in an absolute sense. All are scarce, and many are downright rare. The 1803 BD-3 eagle falls into the former category in terms of total number of coins extant, the present Choice Mint State survivor rare from a condition standpoint and ideal for inclusion in an advanced collection.