Lot 3362
1809/8 $5 Capped Draped Bust BD-1, Rarity 3+. NGC graded AU-58. Untoned. Luster reaches from the margins and around the devices to well out into the field on both sides of this captivatingly attractive early five. What's more, Liberty's hair curls have only a faint trace of wear; all are sharp and finely detailed. A view through a magnifying lens fails to locate any marks of importance, save, perhaps, for a think line extending upwards from the 13th star. Devices are sharp in all areas of the reverse, as well, which is the desirable outcome wished for by collectors. It is clear that the grading service has taken this into consideration in assigning the high-end AU58 grade. Most of the mintage of 33,875 pieces was melted at or near the time of issue (PCGS # 8104) .
Historic note: Under the act of April 5,1792, the legal ratio of silver to gold was fifteen to one, a ratio that undervalued gold. Since 1803, France and the Latin countries adopted a legal ratio of fifteen and one-half of silver to one of gold, and as a consequence, gold, being undervalued in the United States, was withdrawn from circulation here, and sold abroad at a profit by the bullion brokers who were ever on the alert for gain. By 1821 the ratio of gold value to silver had changed to the point where all United States gold coins then circulating (by then consisting of the $2.50 and $5 denominations), cost more than face value to produce. All older coins disappeared from circulation and newly minted ones were used in the export trade. There it made no difference, as a $5 half eagle was not valued at $5 American money, but by its gold weight and fineness. When gold coins were exported it was the custom at the destination to melt them and recoin the metal into gold pieces of the new country.
Estimated Value $6,500 - 7,000.
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