1795 $10 BD-1, 13 Leaves MS(PCGS#45710)

The Samuel Berngard and S.S. New York Collections

拍卖行

Stack's

批号

2564

等级

MS64

价格

3,724,353

详细说明

1795 Bass Dannreuther-1, Taraszka-1, Breen-1A. Rarity-3+. 13 Leaves. MS-64 (PCGS). Over the decades Stack's has seen its share (perhaps a greater share than most numismatic auction firms) of high quality early United States gold coins. It is truly a rare occasion to encounter a piece of the outstanding originality, significant eye appeal, abundant and natural attraction as offered by this breathtaking virtual Gem. Quality alone would center intense collector interest on this exceptional coin, but as the historic first issue of a gold denomination that lasted longer than any other in the gold series, this 1795 Eagle must be identified as an undoubted landmark. Its surfaces are clothed in the rich orange-yellow gold toning. The reverse is a trifle brighter, but splendid satiny lustre is abundant on both sides. The obverse is especially frosty on the bust, (the central design element) while the reverse is wholly reflective and especially assertive in its wealth of lustre. The strike and detail are magnificent throughout, sharp from center to rim, with only the tiniest area of flatness in a portion of the eagle's chest that bears a single short diagonal vestige of an adjustment mark. All feathers are round and outlined, and the leaves in the circle-wreath are especially crisp. Careful examination reveals a few flat dentils above E of LIBERTY. This fantastic near-Gem shows no significant marks or major hairlines, just some widely scattered traces of handling, and its overall quality and appeal closely approach Gem. This piece is struck from a measurably late die state, with all of the cracks mentioned by Taraszka and a straight line slants through the centers of 95 to the base of Liberty's lowest curl. Thin cracks link the bases of the date, stars 1-9, and 13-15 to the bust. A few very faint cracks can be located on the reverse. This variety was the very first struck of the eagle denomination, beginning in September 1795. No gold denomination was coined longer than the $10, the key large denomination in Thomas Jefferson's decimal coinage scheme. Proposals for the eagle began in 1784 and were codified into law in 1786. The issuance of this denomination was one of the few things Jefferson and Hamilton ever agreed upon. It can be recalled that Jefferson famously put a bust of Hamilton in his home at Monticello across the room from a bust of himself so the two men could be "opposed in death as they were in life." The longest gap in its production was that between 1804 and 1834; the issuance of the denomination recommenced for circulation in 1838. Like the Gem quality 1796 No Stars quarter eagle once part of the same collection, this eagle stands as a landmark and one of the very finest survivors of the very first issue of an avidly collected denomination, and its acquisition will delight any collector fortunate enough to include it in his or her collection. PCGS Population: 5; 2 finer (MS-66 finest). This piece is housed in a green label PCGS holder, the same one that housed it in 1999. Provenance: From Bowers and Merena's sale of August 1999, Lot 415.