1803 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-3, Taraszka-28. Rarity-4. Small Reverse Stars. AU-58+ (PCGS). A glorious example that is knocking on the door of a full Mint State grade. Handsome golden-orange surfaces are attractive in all regards. They are also technically sound, with plenty of luster remaining and most design elements sharply to fully rendered. Softness is localized and only really mentionable at the left and right obverse border, at the upper right clouds on the reverse, and at the eagles right talon. The peripheral softness is at least partially explained by concentrations of faint adjustment marks (as made) here and there around the reverse border. although these are minimal in number and insignificant in appearance for an early U.S. Mint gold coin. There are no post-production blemishes of note, and the quality is exceptional for such a large size gold coin from the earliest years of the 19th century. BD Die State c/d.<p>The BD-3 variety is the most available of the six die pairs confirmed for the 1803-dated $10 gold eagle issue, with as many as 200 individual specimens in existence. However, 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. Nearly in the Uncirculated category, this coin would do equally well in a high grade type set or specialized early gold collection. PCGS# 8565. NGC ID: 2629.
