“If not the greatest collector of our century, Mr. Boyd will certainly fit in among the top five.” — Abe Kosoff, Coin World, October 9, 1968 Roseate highlights deepen the shade of rich yellow gold on both sides, lending exceptional visual appeal and serving as evidence of surface originality. Brightly lustrous, with a particularly satiny character on the reverse, this coin offers a sharp contrast to the lighter colored and less original examples of this date usually offered in the marketplace. Aside from some indifferent definition on the denticles in the upper right obverse, and vestiges of adjustment lines among the denticles above AMERICA, all design details are well defined. There are some unobtrusive lines on the obverse, a few tiny marks high on Liberty’s cheekbone, and a thin abrasion between the wing and E of AMERICA, but no marks of consequence are seen on either side. The level of visual appeal, with a strong assist from the spectacular color, is immense. Areas of actual die rust, rather than spalling incorrectly identified as such, are seen on Liberty’s portrait, particularly among the details of her bosom and drapery and along the side of her neck. A crack crosses all seven stars on the left on its way to the point of the bust and to an adjacent denticle. Another crack wends from the lowest point of star 9 through the four stars that follow it, though it does not appear to reach the hair curl past star 13 as indicated in the Bass-Dannreuther reference. The reverse is boldly clashed, with a nearly intact impression of Liberty’s bust visible around the eagle. A group of vertical lapping lines is present from the second group of feathers below the wingtip at left into the field below, related but not connected to the batch that crosses under UN of UNITED. Another single lapping line runs from a similar spot on the wing at right through the second arrowhead to the C of AMERICA below. The overdate aspect is subtle, showing a raised artifact at the juncture of the 9’s loop and tail and another in the gap between the tail’s tip and the loop above it. There is little about the form to recommend it as an 8 underdigit, though that old appellation is likely to follow this variety until the possibility of that interpretation is fully disproven. The Bass-Dannreuther reference is dubious about the overdate status of this issue, noting that Bass “seems to have doubted” that an 8 lurks below the 9; co-author John Dannreuther “believes that it may only be a misplaced 9.” Though all 1809 half eagles are struck from a single pair of dies, this coin was one of two included in the 1946 “World’s Greatest Collection” sale, described as a “perfect date” while the other was offered as an 1809/8 overdate. Blessed with the finest quality color, surface, and overall preservation, provenance may be added to the list of this coin’s positive attributes. Frederick C.C. Boyd’s taste for numismatics knew few bounds, and his resources allowed him to build spectacular cabinets of nearly every American numismatic specialty. Boyd’s reputation, and ready checks for important specimens, meant that he was offered the most important coins in an era that was awash in them, following the dissolution of the Virgil Brand and Col. E.H.R. Green collections. Taking his pick, he built an incomparable cabinet that earned few quibbles when Abe Kosoff called it the “World’s Greatest Collection.” His colonial coins and medals became the basis of the John J. Ford, Jr. holdings; Ford called him a “living legend.” After consigning his United States silver coins to Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg’s Numismatic Gallery for auction, Boyd sold his gold coins outright to the partners, who presented them at auction in 1946. The elusiveness of the 1809 date is underappreciated. The Bass Dannreuther text estimates that 250 to 325 specimens are known, a figure that coincides well with certification data, but among these circulated coins predominate and gems are few. Most major specialized collections have included pieces that rank in the lower register of Mint State grades. Only two coins graded MS-65 by PCGS have sold in the last decade, one in 2005, the other in 2011. No MS-66 has ever sold at auction. There is only one example certified so fine, and it has been in the D. Brent Pogue Collection for more than 30 years. PCGS# 507603. NGC ID: 25PC.
