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Sale 63
Lot 1575
1804 Crosslet 4. NGC graded MS-63. A far better than average strike with full hair detail. Untoned and shimmering with mint luster. Very rare date. The final year of the series, the 1804 capped bust eagles are rarer than the mintage of 3,757 might suggest: Breen estimates a survival rate of a "little over 1 percent." Just one variety is known for the "original" 1804 eagles. (A second "variety" of 1804 eagle was struck in 1834 for inclusion in sets of U.S. coins being used as diplomatic gifts by American officials.)
The 1804, is, by a strange happenstance, not the final business strike issue in this series, as that honor goes to the very rare 1803 BD-6 die marriage. The Mint employed only a single die marriage to produce this issue, although the astute bidder will recognize that there is also a BD-2/Plain 4 variety reported for the 1804 in the 2006 book Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834 by John W. Dannreuther and Harry W. Bass, Jr. BD-2, however, is not part of the currency strike Capped Bust Right Eagle series but rather it is a Proof restrike from the 1830s that the Mint prepared for use in special Proof sets such as those presented to the King of Siam and the Sultan of Muscat.
But to return to the coin in this lot. The 1804 BD-1/Crosslet 4 Eagle is a very scarce variety with an extant population of just 80-100 pieces in all grades. At the Choice Mint State 63 level, the coin that we are offering here is near the top of Condition Census for the variety. A mostly green-gold piece, both sides do brighten to more of a yellow-gold sheen when the surfaces dip into a light as the coin is gently tilted by the observer. Direct angles also call forth a vibrant, satiny texture that accents an overall sharp strike. There really are no areas of memorable lack of detail -- although a few are present, nonetheless -- and we are also unable to locate more than the expected number of abrasions for the assigned grade including a slight chatter run of four dots below the 9th star. A few shallow grazes over Liberty's portrait are noted for accuracy, but a faint adjustment marks over the reverse shield are as struck. Pop 5; 1 in 64.
Estimated Value $130,000 - 140,000.
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| Realized $103,500 |
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