1795 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-4, Taraszka-4. Rarity-5. 13 Leaves. AU-50 (PCGS). OGH. <strong>Type and Style:</strong> Type I: Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle. Style I: Head of 1795 with 15 stars arranged 10 left, five right; Reverse of 1795 with 13 leaves on the palm branch. The head and eagle punches are attributed to hubs prepared by Robert Scot.<p><strong>Die Variety:</strong> BD-4, Taraszka-4, Breen 3-B, HBCC-3172. The obverse die is easy to identify as it is the only one for the 1795 eagle on which the digit 5 in the date is close to, but does not touch Libertys bust. Closer inspection with a loupe reveals a pair of apostrophe-like die lines from the dentils to the upper right of the letter E in LIBERTY. On the reverse, the eighth leaf or frond on the palm branch is distant from the letter U in UNITED. This variety represents the only use of this obverse die. BD-4 is the first of two uses for this reverse die, which was later used to strike examples of the BD-5, Taraszka-5 variety.<p><strong>Die State:</strong> BD Die State b/b. A faint obverse die crack begins between stars 9 and 10 and continues through the top of star 10 and the letters LIBE in LIBERTY. The reverse exhibits a prominent lump die break in the field between the words OF and AMERICA, as well as light cracks through the letters UNITED ST and TES. This is the latest known die state of the 1795 BD-4 variety. Since it is unknown in any other pairing, and given the paucity of survivors from the BD-4 marriage, this obverse must have suffered some kind of early injury that caused it to fail. We suspect that the dies failure was due at least in part to clashing, since the reverse was lapped either shortly before or (more likely) right after it was paired with the obverse previously used in the BD-2 and BD-3 marriages to create the BD-5 variety.<p><strong>Estimated Mintage for the Issue:</strong> Most Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle tens were struck from 1795-dated dies. The mintage for calendar year 1795 is 5,583 coins, per Mint records. Dannreuther provides an estimate of coins struck from 1795-dated dies that ranges from a low of 5,859 to a high of 10,915 pieces.<p><strong>Estimated Mintage for the Variety:</strong> Dannreuther estimates that only 854 to 1,500 eagles were struck from the 1795 BD-4 die marriage.<p><strong>Estimated Surviving Population for the Variety:</strong> Only 60 to 80 examples are believed extant in all grades (per Dannreuther).<p><strong>Strike:</strong> This exceptionally well produced early eagle exhibits bold to sharp striking detail that even extends to most of the central design elements. Only for a few of the hair strands behind Libertys ear and the eagles head and breast do we note minor lack of detail. The denticulation is essentially full around both sides, exhibiting trivial softness in isolated areas, most notably along the reverse border from 3 to 4 oclock where faint adjustment marks (as made) are seen.<p><strong>Surfaces:</strong> Vivid olive-orange surfaces exhibit a marked prooflike finish that includes pronounced reflectivity in the fields. The design elements tend toward more of a satin texture, which provides a subtle cameo-like effect. Wispy handling marks are commensurate with the assigned grade, the most significant of which is a dull mark in the reverse field between the eagles beak and left wing.<p><strong>Commentary:</strong> This is the third scarcest die marriage of the 1795 eagle, its elusiveness resulting from the early demise of the obverse die due to an as yet undiscovered injury. Interestingly, the finest known 1795 eagle of any variety was coined from these dies: the fabulous Garrett-Pogue specimen in PCGS MS-66+ that we sold for $2,585,000 in our September 2015 Pogue II sale. Attractive About Uncirculated and Mint State examples of all early eagles are eagerly sought, and we suspect that both advanced type collectors and early gold variety enthusiasts will compete vigorously for the honor of securing this lovely BD-4 eagle. PCGS# 8551. NGC ID: 25ZU. From the Harvey B. Jacobson Jr. Collection. Acquired from Ron Karp, 2020.
