1796 $2.50 BD-2, No Stars MS(PCGS#45501)

The Oliver Jung Collection

拍卖行

American Numismatic Rarities

批号

82

等级

MS62

价格

3,035,270

详细说明

1796 Breen-1. BD-2. Rarity-5. No Stars. MS-62 (PCGS). What a thrilling coin this is! There are so many aspects of desirability that it is difficult to know where to begin. First of all, considering the grade alone, it is one of the two finest ever certified by PCGS, with the other MS-65. Second, the type was produced for only a short period of time, and only in the year 1796. With an estimated mintage of only 963 pieces it is, at the same time, a rarity. As might be expected if you are a constant reader of our catalogues, to us the sharpness of strike can be as important as the grade or rarity, and in the present piece this is fulfilled superbly with only the slightest peripheral softness at the wing tips and the lowest tailfeathers. In contrast, and nicely illustrative of the central sharpness of this piece, the top border of the shield is complete—a situation rarely seen. The obverse is as nice as we have ever seen on a 1796 quarter eagle, while the reverse does its part and virtually defines what the Heraldic Eagle motif is all about. By the way, this represents the first appearance of the motif in American federal coinage. The fields are light yellow and somewhat prooflike in character, most notably on the reverse, the obverse to a slightly lesser degree. The devices are finely granular and satiny with fine die finishing lines clearly visible on the obverse. The aesthetic appeal is, shall we say, a "10" by one popular measure. This example is notably free of adjustment marks, a mint-made phenomenon that plagues this first quarter eagle issue. The piece widely hailed as finest known, the Brock-Ward-Numisma '95 specimen, shows no dentil detail on most of the right side of the obverse and above most of AMERICA on the reverse due to adjustment marks, while the borders on the Jung specimen are sharply defined. Many are the collections that lack a 1796 No Stars quarter eagle, despite occasional slurs about overrated rarity—certainly dutiful collectors like Harold Bareford and Michael Keston did not think its rarity was overrated when they could not locate an acceptable specimen for their otherwise superb cabinets of early U.S. gold coins! Harry Bass had a very nice piece, but it is impounded in the Bass Collection currently on display at the ANA Museum; the finest in the three sales of his gold collection was an AU-58 with a large natural planchet flaw on the obverse. In the scheme of collecting United States coins by design types there are many rarities in the gold series. Among these the present coin has its own niche, as the first year of the design, the only year without stars on the obverse, and as a rarity, all of which we noted earlier. We expect that bidding on this coin will be intense. The next owner will have a rare prize, an American numismatic treasure. Design: Capped Bust to right, LIBERTY above, date 1796 below. No stars on the obverse. Reverse with Heraldic Eagle. There is no mark of denomination on the coin. Designer: Robert Scot. Comments: This is the only American gold coin of any denomination of this era that does not have stars. The reason for this is not known, except that perhaps the designer felt that stars on the reverse took care of the situation. Certain earlier literature suggests that the die was unfinished, and that later stars were added. However, this was not the case, as the 1796 variety with stars, made later in the year, is from an entirely different die (as evidenced by minute differences in the placement of the letters and date). Accordingly this piece was deliberately made, but only in small numbers. For a long time it has been high on the list of all-time classics. Die notes: Numerous fine die polishing striae are noted on both dies, but best seen on the reverse where the fields are well protected by the devices. A very fine obverse die crack joins the bases of LI and BER, and no other cracks are seen on either die. PCGS population: 1; 1 finer (MS-65). Provenance: From the James Swan U.S. Type Collection, earlier pedigree unrecorded. Every effort has been made to ensure the integrity of the data but transcription and other errors may have occurred. Before using this information to make a buying or selling decision, confirm the data by consulting the actual sales catalog and prices realized. Stack’s Bowers Galleries disclaims any liability from the use of this information.