I beg leave through you to inform the President of the United States that a dangerous malignant fever has again appeared in this city which will oblige me to shut up the Mint for a short time. I perhaps might have continued it open some little time longer, but having worked up the bullion of every species and issued the coin, I have no hopes in the present state of the city of anyone making a fresh deposit, till the alarm is over. -- Elias Boudinot to James Madison, September 16, 1803.Lush with originality and aswirl with satiny luster, this gem shows deep golden toning on both sides, a bit more complex on the reverse, with lively hints of sea green. The luster is powerfully strong on both sides, barely affected by light scattered lines in the obverse field. Libertys cheek shows a few minor abrasions, but no heavy marks are seen. The strike is exceptional for the date, a bit soft on the arrow talon and the centers of stars in the reverse cluster, but still finely detailed throughout. Light adjustment marks are seen, running southeast to northwest on the left side of the obverse and southwest to northeast on Libertys portrait. The aesthetic appeal is superb, presenting freshness and frost much like this coin did when it first left the Mint. The dies are in their early state, showing evidence of a light clash at the base of L in LIBERTY and inside the right side of the shield, between the second and the third gules, or set of raised vertical stripes, from right. This state is uncracked, but the distinctive die line often seen on this variety is present in the wing at right, descending into the field through the ribbon end.Though this die combination was known to early 20th century researchers like Edgar H. Adams and Waldo Newcomer, it was Harry Bass who first noticed the extra star, a tiny star punched into the cloud beneath F of OF that is perhaps a quarter as big as the standard stars found on the reverse of an eagle. According to the Bass-Dannreuther book, Bass first noticed this aspect in 1966, catalyzing his interest in numismatic research while lending an additional layer of interest to this popular variety.No eagles were dated 1802, but over 15,000 pieces were delivered that year. All, or nearly all, were probably dated 1801. Far fewer eagles were delivered in 1803, with two warrants totaling just 8,979 eagles. The first of these warrants was dated August 19. No further eagles were delivered until November 19, a delay caused by the usual late summer arrival of the dreaded yellow fever in Philadelphia. Any gold that arrived on deposit after August 19 was coined into half eagles (1,454 of them were delivered on September 14). Mint Director Elias Boudinot then rushed to shutter the Mints doors and waited for the "dangerous malignant fever to pass." The coining of 1803 eagles continued into 1804, in fact, the very rare 1803 BD-6 variety was struck after the sole die variety bearing the 1804 date.The eagles of 1803 have not survived in high grade in large numbers. Of the 10 Small Reverse Stars 1803 eagles that have been graded MS-63 or finer by PCGS, just one was graded gem. The Large Reverse Stars pieces, representing just this variety and the extremely rare BD-6, are even scarcer in high grade, with just two coins graded finer than MS-63 by PCGS. This is the sole PCGS MS-65 of the major variety and one of just two MS-65 coins graded by PCGS of the entire date. Even recognizing the Branigan coin that we sold in our August 2006 Old West and Franklinton Collections sale, an NGC MS-66 that has apparently not yet been graded by PCGS, the D. Brent Pogue specimen is a strong candidate for the finest surviving example of the date..
