Gold has neither smell nor taste. Its color is yellow, and this varies according to the purity of the metal. -- Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal, Elements of Chemistry, 1806.Satiny luster blankets both sides, each evenly toned in a deep golden shade approaching that of gourmet mustard. Neither side shows any marks of consequence, and the fragile hairlines seen under a glass likewise fade to insignificance under more casual viewing. The visual appeal and state of preservation are both excellent, despite the Mints use of a slightly subpar quality planchet. A thin striation ends at a microscopic lamination directly above E of STATES. Another short planchet striation underlines star 1, and a long thin striation was mostly struck out below Libertys ear to her throat, but some central obverse granularity remains from the initial planchet texture. The obverse die state remains perfect, but on the reverse several distinct die clashes are seen, no less than two. Harry Basss notes term this coins die state "5(a)/E(b)," denoting his obverse 5 in state a married to his reverse E in state b. Today, with reverse A of 1806 identified as a reverse previously used in 1805, this die marriage is termed 5-D, or Bass Dannreuther-6.This is the only die marriage to use the Round Top 6, sometimes called "Knobbed 6," obverse die. John Dannreuther has estimated that between 35,000 and 50,000 coins were struck from this die pairing, making it one of the most prolific of all die combinations from the First United States Mint. Survivorship rates for early United States gold coins are infinitesimal, reduced by exportation for bullion, recoining after 1834, melting for commercial use, and standard attrition. Despite the seemingly enormous mintage, fewer than 1,000 examples of this die combination are thought to survive in all grades, most of them worn, few of them Mint State, almost none of them gem. Even the most plentiful of United States gold coins of this era is an extraordinary rarity when found in this level of preservation. PCGS has certified just three at the MS-65 level with none finer.
