“September 8 [1810]. We rose at half past 5. The morning was clear; the thermometer 60 degrees. But before setting out, a difficulty occurred: we had nothing less than a five dollar piece, and the family could not change it. I was obliged, therefore, to walk half a mile up the banks of the river to procure it, at the house where we applied for lodgings last evening.” — John Melish, Travels through the United States of America in the Years 1806 & 1807, and 1809, 1810, & 1811, 1818. Warm and frosty deep yellow surfaces show a rosy hue at Liberty’s portrait, while traces of pale blue peek from the shadows of some peripheral design elements. Dramatic luster covers both sides, cartwheeling around the obverse, of a more satiny cast on the reverse. Firmly struck and highly original, this is an exceptionally attractive half eagle. Its obverse shows no marks of consequence, just some trivial evidence of past handling. A scattering of light marks above the eagle’s head and a short scratch adjacent to the tip of the eagle’s beak are the only noteworthy contact points on the reverse. Some adjustment marks are confined almost exclusively to the obverse rims, barely reaching toward the centers at the lowest truncation of Liberty’s bust and above her cap. The denticles atop the reverse are ill defined. Equal in die state to the latest state seen by Bass and Dannreuther, this specimen shows so-called rust pits, likely caused by spalling of the die faces, at Liberty’s chin, the curve where her throat meets her chest, and around star 13. On the reverse, similar raised artifacts are present above the eagle’s beak, in the field far below US of PLURIBUS, and below the scroll end under UNUM. The most prominent of the die cracks connects the inner points of stars 3 through 5 and the outer points of stars 5 and 6. A short crack from the southeast point of star 1 trails off into the field below, and a light crack at the date begins near the midpoint of 1 then crosses 81 below centers and meets 0 at its base. Delicate cracks on the reverse cross from the space left of OF across the center of O and join the D in the denomination to the stop that follows it. A longer but similarly light crack follows the top of the motto ribbon above UNUM, crosses near the tip of the wing at right, and ends at the right base of the first A in AMERICA. David Akers called this issue “very underrated” and “2-3 times as rare” as the other readily collectible variety of this year, the 1810 Large Date, Large 5 variety. Writing in 1979, Akers relied upon his years of experience with a special interest in early U.S. gold coins. Today, decades later, the population reports support his observations. The PCGS Population Report indicates that this variety is a little more than three times rarer than the 1810 Large Date, Large 5 variety, a relationship that is nearly the same in Mint State grades as it is overall. In higher Mint State grades, however, the difference in rarity grows exponentially. PCGS population data suggests this variety is more than five times rarer than the Large Date, Large 5 in grades of MS-64 and above. Certification data make for easily comparable qualitative descriptions rendered in quantitative form, but originality and freshness can be properly appreciated only with a coin in your hand. PCGS has extended an MS-65 grade to one other 1810 Small Date, Tall 5 half eagle, along with just a handful of specimens of other dates and varieties, but gem-quality visual appeal can only be adjudged with a sense of beauty and a baseline of experience. Though population data has become an important way to evaluate basic rarity and grade rarity of United States coins, richly original gems such as these are rarer than any data other than experience could suggest. PCGS# 507596. NGC ID: 25PE.
