1803 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-3, Taraszka-28. Rarity-4. Small Reverse Stars. MS-63 (PCGS).Sharply struck by early U.S. Mint standards, this impressive Capped Bust Right eagle is fully defined over virtually all design elements. Softness of detail is minor and confined to a few isolated peripheral design elements, most notably stars 3 to 4 on the obverse, the cloud below the letter O in OF on the reverse, and the eagles right talon. Gorgeous reddish-rose iridescence drifts over a base of golden-orange patina, both sides further adorned with lively mint luster. BD Die State c/d.<p>The eagles coined in 1803 offer a fascinating insight into the difficulties the early Mint confronted with coin production. Only a single 1803-dated obverse die was hardy enough to produce the entire output of eagles, but the six different reverse dies tell a different story. The first two reverse dies for this issue seemingly did not last very long, producing between 1,800 and 3,100 coins between the two of them. Mint personnel then resurrected an 1801 reverse die to produce the BD-3 die pair, one that at least was able to coin some 7,500 to 10,000 eagles before it, too, failed. It is uncertain what precisely led to its failure as a terminal die state is not presently known, but the strong clash marks and evidence of heavy die lapping on the reverse or remove an earlier series of clash marks would tend to indicate that withdrawal from use was likely eminent by the time these last few coins were produced from this die pair. As with other early gold issues, the precise mintage is a matter of conjecture. The widely accepted and most quoted figure is that 15,017 pieces were struck in 1803 divided between 8,979 Small Reverse Stars and 6,038 Large Reverse Stars coins. The die sequence analysis by John Dannreuther points to a larger quantity somewhere in the range of range of 13,850 to 20,450 specimens because the original estimate fails to take into account a later batch of eagles struck in 1804 using a backdated 1803 obverse. The BD-3 variety has long proven to be the most available of the six die pairs with as many as 200 individual specimens in existence, though one should be cautious to apply the word "common" to any early gold eagle, as the mass meltings in later decades took a very heavy toll indeed. A modest number of Mint State examples exist for numismatists to appreciate, though this is an issue that becomes increasingly challenging the higher up the scale. Solidly in the Choice Mint State category, this coin would do equally well in a high grade type set or specialized early gold collection.
