1799
Eagle Two Coin Set - Small Stars Obverse and Large Stars Obverse
The
numismatic adventure can be enriched by acquiring groups of
coins in meaningful combinations. Sets of coins can run from
two pieces to many. In the areas of rare date and early silver
and gold coins we have established certain sets of special
interest. They include the first and last of an issue, type
sets, design sets, year sets, and those that are joined by
historical events such as the Civil War. The coins of each
set are specially selected for you and your collecting needs.
We are specialists in this
area and will expertly and confidentially help you assemble
a set similar to the one you see below, which is made up of
pieces from the US Rare Coin Investments’ archives.
We will cherry pick through millions of dollars of rare coins
selecting only the finest quality pieces for your collection.
The 1799 eagle has a Small and Large Star
variety but these, unlike the half eagle, are obverse stars.
It seems that during production of the eagle coins, the
Small Stars punch broke and was replaced with the Large
Stars one. It was used for the rest of the year and continued
in use through 1801, when it was replaced with another large
stars punch with more finely pointed stars. The Small Stars
obverse is considerably rarer than the Large Stars. PCGS
has certified 147 Small Stars and 452 Large Stars examples.
The obverse design shows a profile of Liberty
facing right. Below her is the date which is off center
to the left. Between the date and the word LIBERTY on the
left side of the coin are 8 stars. Another
5 stars follow LIBERTY down to the bust. Liberty wears a
large, soft cap. Her hair flows down and also shows on her
forehead. The design was probably taken from a Roman engraving
of a Greek goddess. Liberty’s cap was certainly not
a Phrygian or liberty cap.
The liberty cap, emblematic of freedom,
was worn by freed slaves and freed gladiators in Roman times.
It was a close fitting cap used to cover a shorn head, which
was one of the ways slaves were identified. Because of the
way Liberty’s hair strands wrap around it, the oversized
cap has been called a turban, and the design has been called
the Turban Head because of it. The Type 2 reverse shows
a heraldic eagle. (Type 1 showed a “small” eagle
sitting on a palm branch holding a wreath in its mouth.)
However, for the heraldic eagle Scot mixed
up the positions of the arrows and olive branch. The arrows
held in the wrong claw signify defiant militarism. Either
Scot made an error copying the image of the Great Seal,
or he deliberately changed the symbolism in keeping with
very warlike stance. Considering that the United States
at this time was engaged in a naval war with France (the
undeclared Franco-American War of 1798 to 1800, which took
place on the East coast of North America and the Caribbean
and resulted in the end of French privateer attacks on U.S.
shipping), the latter is probably more likely. The French
would be especially sensitive to a message within the heraldry,
and the young United States was brash in that they had just
defeated the super power, England in gaining independence.
In the field above the eagle are thirteen stars and above
them, an arc of clouds. A banner from wing to wing has the
motto E PLURIBUS UNUM.
1799
Eagle Small Stars Reverse -
The BD-4 variety is an example of the Small Obverse
Stars variety.
The obverse die, which was also used
on BD-5, is identified by star 9, touching the Y in
LIBERTY, and star 13 away from the bust. The reverse,
which had previously been used with all die pairings
for 1799 eagles, only has some minor differences to
other dies used this year, most notably the O in OF
centered over the right part of the cloud directly
under it.
This die was retired after the use
on this particular variety, and supposedly destroyed,
like all early American dies. The illustrated coin
is a PCGS AU55 example in an OGH (old green holder).
The coin has only some minor friction wear on its
highest points with minor scattered abrasion marks
in the fields.
It is fresh with nearly full luster
that highlights both sides. The strike is strong,
with nearly all detail of Liberty’s hair and
the eagle still visible, making it a strong upgrade
candidate, and very close or at AU-58 quality. The
medium orange-gold colors that are pleasing in hand
further highlight both sides.
1799
Eagle Large Stars Obverse - The BD-10
variety is an example of the Large Obverse Stars variety.
It is one of only two varieties of
1799 Large Obverse Stars eagles. A leaf touches the
I in AMERICA at its lower right. The lowest berry
is under the right foot of the final A. The lower
beak of the eagle touches the point of Star 12 and
the upper beak almost touches another point. Star
12 touches the ribbon at the first upright of the
U in UNUM.
The pictured coin is an NGC AU53 example.
The coin has an exceptional obverse strike and an
above average reverse strike. The centers of the stars
and the strands of hair are fully detailed. Also full
detailed are the upper part of the shield, the eagle’s
wings, some of the stars above, and about half of
the clouds.
There are full dentils on the reverse
and about eighty percent of the obverse. Muted mint
luster is seen in protected areas on both sides. Sufficient
separation exists in the lines of Liberty’s
hair at the top of the cap and at the ear as well
as in the drapery to affirm the grade.