1823 Capped Head Left Half Eagle. BD-1, the only known dies. Rarity-4+. MS-62 (PCGS). CAC. CMQ.Delicate orange-golden toning adorns fields that enjoy quite a bit of reflectivity on either side. The devices are nicely frosted, and the overall appearance is wonderfully fresh and vibrant. BD Die State a/a.<p>The Capped Head Left half eagle of 1813 to 1834 is one of the rarest types in U.S. numismatics. This may come as a surprise to readers who focus solely on the yearly mintages for this series, which are actually respectable by early U.S. Mint standards and, in some case at least, higher than those of the preceding Capped Bust Right and Left types. The rarity of this type is due to the wholesale destruction through melting of thousands of old tenor gold coins after the Act of June 28, 1834 reduced the weight of the half eagle from 8.75 grams to 8.36 grams. In the case of the Capped Head Left series virtually the entire mintage of many issues went to the melting pot, leaving precious few survivors for todays numismatists. The 1823, of which 14,485 to 20,000 examples were produced from a single die marriage, has an extant population of just 80 to 100 pieces (per John W. Dannreuther, 2006). Such is the rarity of this type, however, that this estimated population actually defines the 1823 as one of the more available Capped Head Left half eagles in todays market. Scarce in an absolute sense, of course, and rarer as a date than the 1813, 1818 and 1820, the opportunity to acquire a high quality 1823 half eagle is worthy of serious consideration and strong bids.<p>The only known variety of this issue was struck from Reverse F of the 1820-dated half eagle delivery. This is a workhorse die that also produced both varieties of the 1821, the legendary 1822 rarity, and the only known variety of the 1824.PCGS# 8131. NGC ID: BFY4.CAC Stickered Population: 2; 3.From our (Stacks) Bergstrom & Husky Collections sale, June 2008, lot 2086; Heritages FUN Signature Auction of January 2012, lot 4870.
