Lot 1450
1798. Large eagle. . BD-6, Normal 8. NGC graded AU-58. 13 Star reverse. Nice light golden toning. Some obverse adjustment marks as made at the mint. Only 24,867 struck for the year. Obverse State a, reverse State b with a fine crack from rim to left of O then to cloud. A diminished impact was left by the blow of the (possibly worn) dies that struck the centers of this historic Large Eagle gold coin. Half Eagles were the workhorse gold coins of Americas in the early decades of the 19th century, just as Bust Half Dollars served the same purpose when payments in silver were required. The mintage figure has to be adjusted by the fact that perhaps 95% to 97% of the issue was exported and melted by the 1830s. BD-6 is considered Rarity-6 on the 1 to 8 scale, with perhaps 30-40 known in all grades. Since the obverse die was only used for this variety, one has to conclude that it suffered an early injury. The reverse is found combined with a 1799 obverse to create BD-9 of that date. Pop 38; 26 finer.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 17,000.
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| Realized $17,538 |
