1808 Capped Bust Left Half Eagle. BD-3. Rarity-4. Normal 5D. MS-62 (PCGS). CAC. CMQ.Lustrous, softly frosted surfaces reveal hints of faint semi-reflectivity in the fields. The color is a warm, even medium gold that delivers outstanding eye appeal. A trio of vivid pinkish-rose color swirls around the peripheries are associated with tiny, ancient carbon flecks that confirm the awesome originality of this piece. There are no mentionable marks apart from a couple of light reverse grazes engaging the letters ED in UNITED and RIC in AMERICA. Like the aforementioned carbon flecks, these marks are minor, out of the way at the periphery, and not at all distracting. The strike is well executed with razor sharp to full detail throughout. In sum, this is a lovely Mint State example to represent the challenging Capped Bust Left half eagle series in an advanced gold type set. BD Die State a/d.<p>Four different marriages combining three obverse dies and two reverse dies were employed to coin at least 55,578 half eagles in 1808. Two of these marriages bear overdates and two have normal dates. These are roughly divided evenly in terms of overall market availability, with the edge given to the normal date varieties. The key characteristic between the two reverse dies is the spacing between the 5 and D in the denomination. The BD-3 reverse has a well balanced, even spacing particular to this die, which was first used in 1807. Several hundred examples are known of all die varieties combined, with only 100 to 125 of the BD-3 die pair believed extant (per John W. Dannreuther, 2006). No early gold half eagles can be considered common, especially in attractive Mint State preservation, and an aggressive bidding strategy will be required to secure this appealing piece.PCGS# 8102. NGC ID: 25PA.CAC Stickered Population: 5; 10.From the Chicago Collection.
