Capped Bust Right Eagle
1799 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-10, Taraszka-22. Rarity-3. Large Obverse Stars. MS-62 (PCGS).
A visually impressive early $10 displaying considerable prooflike reflectivity in the fields throughout. These fields frame sharp and untroubled design elements, with a satiny texture glowing from the protected areas. The pale golden-wheat color is accented by subtle hints of honey color near the borders. Overall smooth surfaces with an area of friction below star 7 and a thin mark in the upper reverse field to be noted. Of the ten different 1799 die pairs identified by Bass and Dannreuther, only two used the same Large Stars obverse die. The reverse die proved to be resilient as not only was it able to coin an estimated 12,500 to 17,500 eagles in 1799, it was also used to strike the entirety of the 1800 eagle mintage as well as a few thousand eagles in 1801. With only 300 to 400 coins believed extant in all grades (per Dannreuther), the 1799 BD-10 is one of the more available early eagle varieties and has long been popular with advanced collectors of gold type coins. However, most of these are in circulated grades of AU and EF, some with signs of cleaning and other surface problems, making the present Uncirculated specimen a significant opportunity.
PCGS# 8562. NGC ID: 2625.
From the Naples Bay Collection.
Estimate: $35000