Lot 1452
1814/3 $5 Capped Head. . BD-1, Breen-6468. NGC graded MS-64. Only variety for the year. Very well struck with superb detail throughout and faint clash marks as made. The frosty mint luster is a light golden-orange.
A war was raging across portions of the new American landscape when this beautiful mint state half eagle was struck in 1814. The British, our adversaries in the War of 1812, set into motion their plan for a three-part invasion of the U.S.: Chesapeake Bay, Lake Champlain, & the mouth of Mississippi River. The British were eventually turned back at Baltimore harbor. But on August 24-25, 1814, their forces burned Washington, D.C. and the Capitol. President and First Lady Madison fled the White House. Then, in September 1814, came the Battle of Plattsburgh (Lake Champlain), where the U.S. forces secured our northern border with a stunning victory over a larger British force. On December 15,1814, The Hartford Convention formed by a group of Federalists to discuss secession from the Union. The Convention's proposed seven amendments to protect the influence of Northeastern states, which had refused to participate in the war effort. Finally, on December 24, 1814, one day before Christmas, the Treaty of Ghent was signed ending hostilities. The British and American diplomats agreed to return to the status quo from before the war. A busy year for such an historic gold piece to slip past the avaricious hands of merchants and the public in its full, original Mint condition! Wartime conditions may explain why only 15,454 pieces were struck. Pop 8; none finer (PCGS # 8117) .
Estimated Value $35,000 - 40,000.
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| Realized $33,350 |
