1801 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-1, Taraszka-24. Rarity-5. MS-61 (PCGS).Type and Style: Type II: Capped Bust Right, Heraldic Eagle. Style VII: Head of 1795 with 13 large 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-1, Taraszka-24, Breen 1-A, HBCC-3193. This variety represents the only use of this obverse die and the third and final use of this reverse die. The large, thick obverse stars identical to those on examples of the 1799 BD-9, 1799 BD-10, and 1800 BD-1 varieties are diagnostic of this die marriage of the 1801 eagle, as the BD-2 pairing of this issue displays large, thin stars. Additional features of the 1801 BD-1 obverse die are star 8 away from Libertys cap and star 13 away from the end of the bust. On the reverse, the tip of a leaf in the olive branch is joined to the right foot of the letter I in AMERICA and the lowest berry in the branch is under the right foot of the final letter A.Die State: BD Die State c/d. This is the terminal die state of this scarce variety, the obverse with numerous cracks and breaks that soon rendered it untenable for continued production. The most prominent break vertically bisects the digits 01 in the date, joining the lower border to the bottom of Libertys bust. Another crack arcs from star 13 through Libertys neck and the hair below the ear before terminating in the field behind the head, while a third crack joins the second crack below the ear and extends up through the hair, cap, and letter L in LIBERTY before terminating at the upper border. The reverse die was previously used in the 1799 BD-10 and the initial 1800 BD-1 pairing, and it inherited several cracks from Die State c of the latter marriage. A die crack originates in the field below the letter R in AMERICA and extends through the leaves below the letters ICA, the eagles left talon, the tip of the stem and the eagles tail to the border below the arrow butts. A second crack lightly joins the tail to the arrow butts, a third crack extends through the bottom of the letters UNI, and a fourth crack originates from the border above the first letter A in AMERICA and extends along the top of the letters ME. In the 1801 BD-1 marriage, the reverse now exhibits dentil clash along the top of the letters STAT in the word STATES. This is the only known reverse die state of this variety.Estimated Mintage for the Issue: According to numismatic tradition, the mintage for the 1801 eagle is 44,344 coins, 15,090 pieces of which were struck in 1802 from 1801-dated dies. This figure is per Walter Breen. Dannreuther, however, provides a range of 32,500 to 44,000 eagles struck from 1801-dated dies, the lower estimate likely closer to reality since many of the examples delivered during calendar year 1801 were coined from the remarriage of the 1800 BD-1 variety. It is also possible that some 1799-dated eagles were struck as late as 1801.Estimated Mintage for the Variety: Dannreuther estimates that 2,500 to 4,000 examples were coined from the 1801 BD-1 dies.Estimated Surviving Population for the Variety: Forty to 50 coins are believed extant in all grades (per Dannreuther).Strike: This expertly produced early eagle exhibits sharp to full detail throughout the design with bold, uniformly denticulated borders encircling both sides.Surfaces: Satiny, near-fully lustrous surfaces exhibit splashes of reddish-rose iridescence on dominant deep orange patina. Wispy handling marks are easily overlooked, closer inspection with a loupe revealing a tiny nick on Libertys cheek behind the mouth that we mention solely as a provenance marker.Commentary: This is the second of two 1801 BD-1 eagles in the Taraszka Collection, a remarkable offering given the elusiveness of this variety. Mr. Taraszka acquired the present example from our (Bowers and Merenas) Bass II Sale to represent the terminal obverse die state, the early demise of that die explaining the scarcity of this variety. Wonderfully original with strong technical quality and eye appeal, this coin is sure to find its way into another advanced early gold cabinet.From the Anthony J. Taraszka Collection. Earlier from our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II, October 1999, lot 1312. Bass acquired the coin from Ed Janis on February 9, 1970.
