Lot 2183
1800 $10 Capped Bust. NGC graded AU-55. Only 5,999 minted. A lustrous specimen after its temporary use in circulation, and one that collectors can use as a benchmark for other examples that share AU55 grade. While the strike is forthright and crisp in many areas, it is only reasonably full on some of Liberty's hair as well as at the reverse shield, yet without doubt few of the head and shoulder details are left to the imagination. Identifiers include a short diagonal line crossing the ribbon at UNUM; also, there is a little field indentation below the right claw.
Under the terms of the Coinage Act of 1792, the obverses of all the coins, copper, silver, and gold, had to depict Liberty, then as now an allegorical female figure. The reverses of the silver and gold coins had to depict an eagle. With those requirements in force, and a requirement that certain inscriptions appear on all the coins, mint engraver Robert Scot composed his designs for the obverse and reverse.
The gold Eagle obverse depicts a bust of Liberty facing right and wearing a soft cap (not the pileus or Liberty cap found on the Liberty cap half cent and cent, among other U.S. coins). Liberty's hair flows freely, down over her truncated shoulders. On the reverse of 1798-1804 dated pieces there is an eagle in heraldic pose adapted from the Great Seal of the United States. Pop 25; 67 finer (PCGS # 8563) .
Estimated Value $19,000 - 20,000.
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| Realized $18,975 |
