Lot 2196
1801 $10 Capped Bust. NGC graded MS-61. 44,344 coins minted. A radiant example, fully struck with gold color that rises and falls in an almost rhythmic display. Although not in extremely choice condition, the surface is fresh enough, and aesthetically pleasing, that the grading service probably had no qualms about assigning the grade it did. Since our observation is that this date is usually fully struck, then this sharp coin has every suggestion of precision manufacture as seen in the hair and cap, stars and date, eagle, eagle's breast, shield and claws.
"To the Shores of Tripoli": 1801. The first undeclared U. S. war. Conflict with the North African port city of Tripoli began when the Pasha of Tripolitania cut down the flagpole at the U. S. Consulate, after the U. S. refused to pay tribute to pirates along the Barbary Coast. Later, on the night of February 16, 1804, Lieut. Stephen Decatur and his daredevil crew slipped aboard the captured American ship Philadelphia as it lay docked in Tripoli harbor, knifed the guards, set the ship afire by using gunpowder, and rowed safely away. Finally, in 1805, the U. S. consul in Tunis, William Eaton, collected a rabble army in Egypt-consisting of 38 Greeks, 300 Arabs, a dethroned pasha, and 7 marines under Lieut. Preston N. O'Bannon-and marched 600 mi. across the desert to attack Tripoli from the rear. The phrase "To the shores of Tripoli" in the U. S. Marines' hymn refers to this incident. Pop 57; 116 finer.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 28,000.
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| Realized $31,625 |
