By CoinWeek ….
As part of their April 21 U.S. Coin Auction selection, GreatCollections is offering this 1805 Capped Bust Right, Heraldic Eagle reverse gold $5 half eagle graded MS64 by PCGS and encapsulated in a gold shield holder. PCGS has graded 19 examples at MS64, with only two finer: a coin in MS64+ and a solitary piece in the top pop grade of MS65. The coin currently on offer is pedigreed to the Schwenk Family Collection of Gold Half Eagles.
Four obverse dies and two reverse dies, resulting in five combinations or die marriages, were used to strike 1805 Capped Bust Right half eagles. One of the die marriages (Bass Dannreuther-1, or BD-1) is famous for arguably featuring the single-most-used reverse die in the history of the early United States Mint, striking half eagles from 1805 through 1807, as well as 1807 dimes.
With a reported mintage of 33,183, the 1805 Capped Bust Right half eagle is not as available as some Capped Bust Right half eagles (relatively speaking) – though it should be noted that all early U.S. gold is scarce, having not been the focus of contemporaneous coin collectors. Additionally, the average strike of the 1805 half eagle typically shows some weakness on the obverse. The current specimen displays an even, sharp strike over the entire obverse, with perhaps some softness on the eagle’s head and neck. But not much.
At the time of writing, the highest of nine bids on the 1805 half eagle in next Sunday’s auction is $20,005 USD.
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To search through GreatCollection’s archive of over 600,000 certified coins and notes the company has sold over the past eight years, please visit the GreatCollections Auction Archives.
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