The excitement continues. All across America, all across the world, collectors, dealers, and others are looking forward to our D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II sale. The date is September 30th and the venue is Sotheby’s international headquarters in New York City — the same gallery as our Pogue I sale. Scheduled to cross the block are coins that in nearly all instances are either the very finest of their kind or in the top rank. No collection of this magnitude has ever been offered before. The term “once in a lifetime opportunity” is very appropriate.
Among the highlights is the beautiful gem MS-65 1803 eagle, Bass-Dannreuther variety 5, with 14 instead of the usual 13 stars. A tiny extra star is “hidden” in a cloud on the upper right of the reverse. Another example of this particular variety is what launched Harry W. Bass, Jr. into the specialty of studying gold coins by die varieties. His very first gold coin purchase was an 1876 gold dollar, lot 511 in Paramount International Coin Corporation’s sale of May 1966, held in New Orleans. Among his other acquisitions at the same auction was an eagle of 1803. Upon inspecting the coin, he was surprised to see what appeared to be an extra star embedded in the rightmost cloud above the eagle on the reverse design. Seeking more information, he turned to the standard references on hand, including A Guide Book of United States Coins, and then to a monograph on early $10 coins written by America’s leading scholar at the time, Walter Breen. Unbelievably, although certain characteristics of this particular die were described, the curious 14th star had not been noticed! Harry made his first major numismatic discovery, the precursor to many that would follow. The rest is history!
In his research and study of our offered 1803 BD-5 eagle John Kraljevich described this memorable coin:
“Lush with originality and aswirl with satiny luster, this gem shows deep golden toning on both sides, a bit more complex on the reverse, with lively hints of sea green. The luster is powerfully strong on both sides, barely affected by light scattered lines in the obverse field. Liberty’s cheek shows a few minor abrasions, but no heavy marks are seen. The strike is exceptional for the date, a bit soft on the arrow talon and the centers of stars in the reverse cluster, but still finely detailed throughout. Light adjustment marks are seen, running southeast to northwest on the left side of the obverse and southwest to northeast on Liberty’s portrait. The aesthetic appeal is superb, presenting freshness and frost much like this coin did when it first left the Mint. The dies are in their early state, showing evidence of a light clash at the base of L in LIBERTY and inside the right side of the shield, between the second and the third gules, or set of raised vertical stripes, from right. This state is uncracked, but the distinctive die line often seen on this variety is present in the wing at right, descending into the field through the ribbon end.
“The eagles of 1803 have not survived in high grade in large numbers. Of the 10 Small Reverse Stars 1803 eagles that have been graded MS-63 or finer by PCGS, just one was graded gem. The Large Reverse Stars pieces, representing just this variety and the extremely rare BD-6, are even scarcer in high grade, with just two coins graded finer than MS-63 by PCGS. This is the sole PCGS MS-65 of the major variety and one of just two MS-65 coins graded by PCGS of the entire date. Even recognizing the Branigan coin that we sold in our August 2006 Old West and Franklinton Collections sale, an NGC MS-66 that has apparently not yet been graded by PCGS, the D. Brent Pogue specimen is a strong candidate for the finest surviving example of the date.”
Next week: Spotlight on a memorable gem 1795 Flowing Hair dollar.
