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Sale 53
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Lot 1320
1795 $10 Capped Bust. NGC graded MS-61. Mostly well struck in natural greenish-yellow gold. Free from adjustment marks and just a few die chips noted in the planchet. A lustrous example of our first gold coin. The date on the BD-1 variety is the most closely spaced of the year and the top of the 1 is very close to the curl while the top of the 5 overlaps the bust. Star 11 very near Y with two lumps as top left of Y (these are key identifiers of the variety).
Only a few examples remain in Mint State grades, barely enough to supply the growing cohort of numismatists of means who will have to settle for a bidding tussle to finally obtain one. A fair number of the Mint quality survivors have traces of prooflike fields, much as this coin does. We cannot fail to see this coin becoming anything other than the highlight of a major early gold Type collection. Because 1795 is the initial release of the denomination, the importance of this handsome Mint State 61 example will be established for decades to come. 5,583 struck. Pop 19. In a new NGC 4 pronged holder.
Historic note: Mintage of only three denominations -- the dime, the silver dollar, and the 10-dollar coin officially called the eagle -- sufficed to commit American coinage firmly to the decimal system in the early days of the U.S. mint. For years it seemed that coinage of these denominations had no other purpose, according to Breen, since they enjoyed little circulation. As it turned out, in the first few decades the Mint's principal output consisted of one denomination in each metal: gold half eagles, silver half dollars, and copper cents. The half eagle seems to have been favored because its bullion value was conveniently close to that of many foreign coins of the period (British guineas and sovereigns, French louis d'or and 24 Livres coins, Portuguese/Brazilian 4,000 Reis and 2 Escudos, etc.); the half dollar because of its size; cents primarily as an alternative to privately made copper tokens. The 10-dollar eagle, though specially named in the Coinage Act of 1792 as our nation's gold monetary unit, was for various reasons inconvenient for international trade.
Estimated Value $80,000 - 90,000.
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| Realized $92,000 |
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