Lot 885
SEMI UNIQUE 1806 $5.00 GOLD. PCGS graded MS-63. A splendid example of this extremely rare die variety, the strike is bold with full curls on Liberty and even the eagle's wing feathers are complete. The surfaces displaying alternately satin and prooflike qualities. Even if this were a "common" variety half eagle, it would still qualify as one of the very finest seen, as only a few are known in any grade of Mint State, to find a choice example as offered here is an opportunity. Well preserved, and aside from scattered handling marks, virtually as struck.
As to the rarity of this piece, Miller notes that only 2 are known of this variety, this by far the better of the two. An exceptional opportunity for the advanced numismatist to purchase one of the rarest die pairings in numismatics.
While 1806 dated coins are the most common of this type, several die varieties exist. The first major distinction is the pointed six in the date, all of which have the obverse stars arranged eight on the left and five on the right. Compare this with the knobbed 6 coins, which all have the obverse star arrangement of seven on the left, six on the right. Breen and others have estimated that the mintage of these two main varieties is as follows: the pointed six varieties only 9,676, while the knobbed six varieties 54,417. In addition to this low mintage of the pointed six obverse, this particular coin is paired with a reverse die in a combination that is only seen on two coins. Of the two, this is by far the finer example.
This coin comes with a Photo Proof certificate from NGC, where it was previously graded as MS-63. Since that time, the coin was submitted to PCGS where it also graded MS-63 by that service. One of only 10 so graded by PCGS this high, with two coins graded higher of the pointed six variety.
The study of die varieties in early gold coins is in its infancy. Recently, excellent reference works were published which brought up to date the available information by Robert Miller on half eagles, and Anthony Taraszka on eagles. Prior to this time, the only available die variety information were pamphlets authored by Walter Breen from the early 1960s, which were found to be well out of date for the last several years. Further interest has been generated by the superb catalogs of the Harry Bass, Jr. Collection by the staff at Bowers and Merena Galleries with pages of information on die varieties of all gold series, with many coins available for the first time in decades. It has been our experience that once the die variety book is published, it takes a few years for collectors to begin collecting in earnest by die variety. Therefore, this would be an excellent time to put a true rarity like this away, knowing the only other example is tied up in a collector's reference collection, another opportunity to purchase this die pairing may be decades away when this coin reappears.
Estimated Value $30,000-UP.
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