The coin of the United States has a wretched appearance after they have been a month in circulation, executed by Scot who has made an independent fortune, and who would wish to employ Reich only from a fear that the excellence of his work would cause him to be supplanted. I heard it said the other day, that it was a shame there was only one Republican officer in the Mint (Voigt) and that we should have such poor coin while we could command the talents of Reich and do honor to the Jeffersonian Age. -- John Lithgow to Thomas Jefferson, December 24, 1804.Creamy light yellow gold with impressive cartwheel and sublime satiny luster, especially bright on the reverse. A handsome survivor, touched by very little handling on the obverse and none of any importance on the superb gem quality reverse. A tiny contact point is seen in the left obverse field parallel to the space between stars 2 and 3, another below R of LIBERTY, along with a scattering of trivial hairlines. Some raised artifacts near stars 12 and 13 are relics of spalling on the die face. The reverse fields are fresh and immaculate, pretty as a picture around resoundingly well struck devices. Some spalling is also seen on the reverse, especially around the arrowheads and the wingtip at left, the latter region showing some lapping lines remaining from an effort to repair the die face.The obverse is cracked vertically from the bottom of Libertys cap, through precise central obverse and down the center of the portrait to the 0 of the date, which it neatly bisects before ending among the denticles. The reverse is cracked from the arrow butts to the rim, then from the rim in the same spot through the top serifs of UNIT, ending in a substantial cud above T that swallows that letters crossbar. The cud, an area where no die face was left to stamp out adjustment marks, reveals some vestiges of planchet adjustment, which can also be seen between the cud and the nearby wingtip. They are likewise visible in the area around the wingtip at right, beneath OF and into the cloud under O and, less noticeably, the star cluster below.This type, long called the "Small 8," was more correctly named the "Normal 8" by Harry Bass who noticed "the 8 is the correct punch to match the other digits, so it is not small, although it is smaller than the Large 8 punch," as summarized by John Dannreuther in the Bass-Dannreuther book.While this design type is roundly beloved today, it was not without contemporary criticism. John Lithgow, who complained to Thomas Jefferson about coinage, was a frequent correspondent with both Washington and Jefferson. Among the letters from Lithgow that are preserved in the National Archives, five in all, he lodges various complaints in each, spanning a wide variety of subjects. To Washington, he complained about the institution of a national lottery, which he proclaimed "national vice," and likewise bellyached about the quality of roads, the scarcity of specie and the evils of banks, and other issues. He whined to Jefferson about the structure of the military, errors in his book Notes on the State of Virginia, and rumors that he has trusted the wrong people. Perhaps meaningfully, Washingtons response is not known. Jefferson put him off politely, responding to his criticisms of Notes on the State of Virginia by saying "when I retire, I may amuse myself with a serious review of this work. At present it is out of the question." It would be interesting to know what he thought of Lithgows critiques of the products of the Mint, as the Mint establishment and coins in general were subjects that held profound interest for Jefferson.Robert Scots designs translate perfectly onto this golden canvas, making this a showcase for the Draped Bust half eagle type. This coin is unsurpassed by any example of this famous date seen by PCGS. Walter Breen singled this coin out in 1966 as one of the best he had seen, and its superlative nature remains intact today.
