1799 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-4, Taraszka-16. Rarity-7. Small Obverse Stars. AU-55 (PCGS).Type and Style: Type II: Capped Bust Right, Heraldic Eagle. Style VI: Head of 1795 with 13 small stars arranged eight left, five right; Reverse of 1799 with 13 small stars in the field below the clouds and a short, thick neck on the eagle. The head and eagle punches are attributed to hubs prepared by Robert Scot. Die Variety: BD-4, Taraszka-16, Breen 3-A, HBCC-3185. This variety represents the first of three uses of this obverse die, and the fourth and final use of this reverse die. On the obverse, the digits 17 in the date are close and the second 9 is slightly higher than the first. Stars 2, 3 and 4 are lightly repunched, star 8 presents two points to the back of Libertys cap, star 9 lightly touches the letter Y in LIBERTY below the right serif, and star 13 is relatively distant from the end of Libertys bust. On the reverse, the lowermost arrow head is under the extreme left edge of the letter N in UNITED, a leaf tip just touches the center of the letter I in UNITED, the lowermost berry is centered under the final letter A in AMERICA, and there are small die rust lumps between the letters UN in UNITED and within the top of the N. The faint, jagged die line that bisects the letter O in OF on coins struck from earlier states of this reverse is no longer present in the BD-4 pairing.Die State: BD Die State b/e. This is the only confirmed die state of this variety. The obverse exhibits several light to moderate cracks: from the border through the top two points of star 8; an erratic rust-like crack from the field above the top of Libertys cap to the field between the letters LI in LIBERTY; from the border above the right edge of the letter L through the top of the letters IBERTY; from the border above the letter E to the right edge of its upright; between stars 9, 10 and 11. The reverse exhibits the same cracks as seen on the 1799 BD-3 example in Die State c/d-e offered above, although several are now more extensive. The crack through the shield is bolder, as are those from the border to the upper right corner of the letter U in UNITED, from the border to the top of the final letter A in AMERICA, and from the border through the letter I to the letter C in the same word. The expansion of these cracks confirms that the reverse had progressed fully from Die State d to e at the time this coin was struck. Light lapping of the die during the 1799 BD-3 press run has removed the faint die line through the letter O in OF and the crack from the border to the second feather from the top of the eagles left wing tip.Estimated Mintage for the Issue: The conventionally accepted mintage has been 37,449 coins for the 1799 Capped Bust Right eagle issue, based on Walter Breens assumption that all of the coins delivered between May 14, 1799, and September 4, 1800, were from 1799-dated dies. After careful study, Dannreuther provides a revised range of 31,750 to 46,250 pieces produced, the lower estimate allowing for the possibility that some 1797 BD-3 and/or BD-4 coins were included in Breens 37,499-piece mintage, and the upper estimate allowing for the possibility that some 1799-dated eagles were also included in later deliveries.Estimated Mintage for the Variety: Dannreuther estimates that 500 to 1,000 examples were coined from the 1799 BD-4 dies.Estimated Surviving Population for the Variety: Only eight to 12 coins are believed extant in all grades (per Dannreuther).Strike: This is an overall boldly struck example with particularly sharp detail evident throughout much of the eagles plumage and Libertys hair. The borders are fully and uniformly dentillated from a well centered impression. Stars 1 to 3 and 12 on the obverse are a bit blunt, the eagles right wing tip a bit less so. A concentration of light adjustment marks (as made) on the reverse over and below the letters ATES and O in the legend explains the minor softness of detail in that area, especially at several of the clouds.Surfaces: The obverse exhibits deep olive-gold with more vivid pinkish-rose overtones to Libertys portrait and in the surrounding field area. The reverse is somewhat lighter, with faint pale silver haziness to medium gold patina. A somewhat glossy texture and wispy hairlines are noted for accuracy, but the fields offer some semi-prooflike reflectivity, especially in the more protected areas around the design elements. An extremely shallow scuff that has resulted in a circular area of lighter color at the junction of Libertys neck and bust is the most useful identifying feature.Commentary: After producing more than 5,250 coins (per Dannreuther) while paired with four different obverses, the reverse die of 1799 BD-4 was finally withdrawn from production after this marriage. The terminal state of this die arose early in the 1799 BD-4 press run, explaining the small number of examples struck and, consequently, the rarity of this variety. Whether this reverse suffered some kind of catastrophic failure that would be attributed as Die State f, or whether Mint employees considered the expanding cracks of Die State e sufficient to force the abandonment of this die, is unknown. To date, the only reverse die state known for the 1799 BD-4 variety is e, offered here. Additionally, there are no perfect obverse coins (Die State a) known. This is not surprising given the elusiveness of examples. Perfect obverse and/or terminal reverse examples may simply no longer exist, if they were struck in the first place.This is a handsome Choice AU example of this challenging early gold type and exceedingly rare die pairing. As such, it is a coin that holds tremendous appeal for advance type collectors as well as early gold variety enthusiasts. This coin is included in the list of Significant Specimens for the variety in the Taraszka early eagle reference.From the Anthony J. Taraszka Collection. Earlier from our (Stacks) sale of the James A. Stack, Sr. Collection, March 1995, lot 557. The plate coin for the die variety in the book United States Ten Dollar Gold Eagles: 1795-1804 by Anthony J. Taraszka.
