1803/2 $5 MS(PCGS#8084)

1803/2 $5 MS (PCGS#8084)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Lot Description: A warmly patinated golden-honey example with tinges of pale rose evident as the surfaces rotate under a light, especially at the borders. Otherwise sharply struck, the reverse is soft at the arrow cluster due to being in opposition to the top of Liberty's cap. As with the previous year, both obverse dies employed to produce the 1803-dated half eagles all bear an overdate. The obverse die used on the BD-1 pairing is readily discernible by the broken/missing right serif on the foot of the T in LIBERTY matched with a reverse used in the BD-7 pair from the previous year. All told, four combinations of dies have been recorded, producing a total of approximately 32,506 pieces, with the BD-1 pair the most available of the four (edging out the BD-3 and BD-4 by a slim margin). Even so, there are only an estimated 150 to 200 coins believed extant in any degree of preservation; such is the state of early gold that even with so comparatively few survivors this is considered a common variety. Long popular among advanced type collectors as well as early half eagle specialists, this pleasing Choice EF example is not to be overlooked. BD Die State b/c.