1828 Capped Head Left Half Eagle, BD-4, MS62
By Heritage Auctions ……..
Sometimes it is our pleasure as collectors to view one of our consignments and appreciate it for the numismatic accomplishment that it is. Such it is with The Hutchinson Collection, a collection of early half eagles by variety that will be offered as a part of our upcoming January 4-9 FUN Signature auction in Fort Lauderdale.
Our consignor took a true connoisseur’s approach to assembling this collection, with each piece clearly hand-selected and strong for the grade. While there are not many candidates for finest known, the depth of the collection, in this notoriously difficult series, is truly impressive.
Most of this collection is housed in first and second generation holders, as the consignor decided not to attempt to reholder the coins, and is being sold as is. “There are a lot of pieces in this collection likely to upgrade upon resubmission,” said Todd Imhof, Heritage Executive Vice President.
Half eagles of the 1820s are all quite rare, and this collection contains five such pieces. Prime among these is the 1828 BD-4, graded MS62 by PCGS (lot ID 12012). This coin has been off the market since it was sold as part of the Harry Bass collection in 1999; the coin’s pedigree also includes names like Garrett and Mickley. It is one of only nine known examples of BD-4, and about the fourth finest known of those.
The 1797 Small Eagle five with 16 Stars is represented by a piece graded AU58+ by NGC (lot ID 12002). It represents the BD-3 variety, quite rare in absolute terms but the most plentiful of the four Small Eagle varieties of the year. This variety is quite rare in Mint State, with only a single coin certified as such by the major grading services. The Hutchinson example offered here, just a whisper away from Mint State, should draw tremendous bidding interest.
A few of the other highlights of this collection include:
- 1795 $5 Small Eagle, BD-3, AU58 PCGS
- 1795 $5 Large Eagle, BD-14, AU53 PCGS
- 1797/5 $5 Large Eagle, 15 Stars, BD-7, AU55 PCGS. Gold CAC
- 1799 $5 Small Reverse Stars, BD-6, MS63 PCGS. CAC
- 1815 $5 Net XF45 ANACS. BD-1
- 1820 $5 Curl Base 2, Large Letters, BD-5, MS64 PCGS. CAC
- 1830 $5 Small 5D, BD-2, MS63 PCGS. CAC
- 1831 $5 Large 5D, BD-2, MS64 PCGS. CAC
- 1833 $5 Small Date, BD-2, R.6, MS63 PCGS
- 1834 $5 With Motto, Crosslet 4, BD-2, MS62 NGC
