Lot 3905
1797 $10 Capped Bust. Large eagle. Sharpness of AU-50 Taraszka-8, Rarity 4. Light hairlines from an old cleaning and some scratches in the obverse field before the cap. Traces of mint luster and lightly toned. A refreshingly original coin with some luster, as mentioned, still evident after the cleaning, and pleasing champagne-gold to pale coppery orange toning that seems to want to motivate bidders to increase their bids. The devices are resolutely struck including sharp rim dentils, with the characteristic die break through the second 7 in the date.
When the quarter eagle went into production for the first time, in 1796, it bore the same obverse as on the eagle and half eagle, but a new reverse, generally described as the heraldic eagle since its origin was the Great Seal of the United States, our version of the heraldry seen in European capitals. The newly styled coin bears a somewhat more full-featured eagle than on the smaller denominations. The eagle faces to the left and holds in its beak a ribbon inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM, a Latin phrase meaning One Among Many. A shield is set on the eagle's breast. The eagle holds a bundle of arrows in its right talons (the viewer's left) and an olive branch in its left talons. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the design, as on the small eagle 1797. A semicircle of clouds stretches from wing to wing, with 13 stars positioned between the clouds and the eagle in arrangements that vary from die to die. There is no denomination indicated. Size and weight alone told the owner its denomination.
Mint engraver Robert Scot's new reverse was introduced on the eagle in mid-1797, so eagles of this year are found with both reverse design types. The estimated mintage of the 1797 capped bust, heraldic eagle $10 is 10,940.
Estimated Value $14,000 - 16,000.
Ex: From Stack's June 18-19, 1981 Sale. Lot 771.
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| Realized $23,000 |
