Lot 1256
1795 $5 Capped Bust. Small eagle. . BD-3, Breen-6412. ANACS graded Details of AU-50 Repaired and Whizzed. Yet still a decent collector's piece and one representing the desirable first year issue, America's premiere gold coin. Half Eagles appeared in 1795, two years after the first American copper coins and one year after the silver coins. Because the dies for the half eagle were hand-made, numerous varieties exist. The obverse features a head of Liberty by mint engraver Robert Scot. The portrait faces right and wears not a turban, but a stylized freedman's cap (the turban confusion probably came about by the long lock of hair that wraps unnaturally around the cap). The word LIBERTY appears above and to the right of the head. On the issue of 1795, 15 stars are arranged on either side of Liberty's head and the date appears at the base of the obverse. The reverse shows a wan-looking eagle perched on a palm branch, its wings outstretched, holding a wreath of an olive branch in its beak. The words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA are around the top of the reverse. The edge is reeded. No denomination appears on the coin.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 12,500.
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| Realized $10,925 |
