1796 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-1, Taraszka-6, the only known dies. Rarity-4. AU-58 (NGC). A highly desirable example of this scarce early type. Bright golden-yellow color throughout with scattered apricot highlights evident as the coin rotates under a light. The surfaces are bright and flashy, boasting considerable reflectivity in both the obverse and reverse field areas. Pleasingly smooth in hand with neither significant Mint-made adjustment marks nor more than a few singularly noticeable handling marks. Sharply struck. BD Die State c/b.<p>The Small Eagle reverse was used on the $10 gold piece for only three years and was not produced in any large quantity. The 1796 eagle is no exception; the reported mintage according to Mint records is that 4,146 pieces were delivered that calendar year, though this almost certainly includes a number of 1795-dated eagles, as well. Precisely how many were actually dated 1796 remains to be discovered, John W. Dannreuther in his 2006 study, <em>Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834</em>, has estimated the mintage of the 1796-dated issue at 3,500 to 4,146 pieces, all struck from a single die pair. One distinguishing feature are the sixteen stars on the obverse signifying the admission of Tennessee into the Union on June 1, 1796, indicating that these few coins were all struck after that date. The 1796 eagle is also the first of only two issues with only 11 leaves on the reverse branch in the eagles claw; the earlier 1795-dated varieties all display either nine or 13 leaves on the branch. Just 125 to 175 examples are believed extant in all grades, of which less than a dozen certification events have been recorded in the Mint State levels. This sharp Choice AU survivor is a delight to behold and a classic early gold rarity.
