Heritage to Offer Rare Double - Struck Gold Eagle!

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Numismatic Auctions, Inc (HNAI) will offer a rare 1800 double struck $10 gold piece, graded AU58 by PCGS, in their upcoming Signature Auction, to be held May 4-7, 2005 as part of the Central States Numismatics Society Convention to be held in St. Louis, MO.

'Only 5,999 pieces were struck of the 1800 ten dollar,' said Mark Van Winkle, Chief Cataloger for HNAI, 'making it a scarce date among early gold coins. Apparently the dies were retired after a die crack developed above LIBERTY on the upper obverse. That crack is especially noticeable on this piece, which would indicate that this was among the last coins struck in 1800.'

'But what is most remarkable about this coin is not the date or even the grade, but the double striking seen on each side,' Van Winkle continued. 'This is not machine doubling that is commonly seen on early type coins. This piece was struck once, then the struck coin rotated almost 180 degrees and it was struck a second time. Traces of the first strike are plentiful on each side, but the most obvious ones are portions of LIBERTY to the right of the stars and through stars 1-5, and on the reverse the UNU of UNUM is boldly impressed in the horizontal shield stripes. This is the first coin we have seen like this.'

'As all error collectors know,' Van Winkle added, 'gold errors are of the highest order of rarity. Quality control was strictest with gold coins throughout the Mint's history, and it was certainly just as strict in the early days--perhaps even more so, as so much of the early republic's prestige was represented by these large coins when presented abroad. This is a very sharply struck example that shows crisp definition on the eagle's breast above the shield, and strong detailing on Liberty's hair and complete star radials. Almost complete mint luster remains on each side with semi-prooflike fields. The olive-gold color of the coin has been allowed to tone naturally and has taken on an attractive overlay of reddish patina on each side. A few field marks are noted, and there are several marks on Liberty's hair and cap, but frankly, it is difficult to determine just what is a post-striking defect and what is a result of the double striking. This is a very rare and obviously important coin for the early gold specialist.'

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous sales are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website.

To purchase a catalog for any Heritage Auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX., 75219 or visit HeritageGalleries.com to order by credit card.