This week's featured highlight from our official June 2017 Baltimore Expo Auction is an extreme rarity from the Capped Bust half eagle series that has been called "the rarity of this type!" byspecialist John Dannreuther. The 1810 Large Date, Small 5 half eagle is a product of one of the most elusive die marriages from the early U.S. Mint, and any example is among a small but prestigiousgroup. The fabled Class I 1804 dollar is much more common in comparison, and the famous 1913 Liberty Head nickels outnumber it by one piece.

Assigned a Rarity-7+ rating, just four coins are confirmed to exist including the present offering. Harry W. Bass, Jr. owned two of the four, including the finest that grades About Uncirculatedand is part of the Core Collection on long-term loan to the ANA. The third piece was recently offered as part of the legendary Pogue Collection, a VF-25 (PCGS) example that realized $56,400 in ourFebruary 2016 sale.

Just three collectors have ever assembled a complete set of 1810 half eagles by variety, including Bass, Pogue, and George Gozan, whose set was purchased by Bass intact in lot 923 of Paramount'sAuction '80. With one of the Bass coins effectively off the market for the foreseeable future, there have been, up until now, only two examples of the 1810 Large Date, Small 5 half eagle available togold enthusiasts. The present newly discovered piece offers the opportunity for an additional numismatist to add his or her name to an exclusive roster of collectors.

The surfaces are uniformly glossy and smooth, evidently from time spent mounted as jewelry.

To read the complete article, see:
Extremely Rare 1810 Large Date, Small 5 Capped Bust Left Half Eagle to be Featured in our June 2017 Baltimore Auction(www.stacksbowers.com/News/Pages/Blogs.aspx?ArticleID=2506)