Cert # 31694558

Coin Number 9

Here is a regal coin that offers abundant eye appeal for the grade assigned and is certainly one of the finest known of this rare date and issue. Perhaps 90 exist in all grades today, with this clearly one of the top coins known today. The surfaces show a few scattered ticks and scrapes, but these are accounted for in the grade assigned. No signs of toning here but the eye appeal is higher than the assigned grade would imply. As often seen, the obverse received the brunt of the visible handling marks, while the reverse appears to be a grade or so finer, as the complex devices minimized and lessen any signs of contact there. This has long been known to be one of the tougher issues to obtain in any grade, especially so in mint state. Notice the obverse star arrangement of 9 left and 4 right, on the other 1798 obverse die a more balanced 7 stars by 6 arrangement is seen. 1798 is the year when the star count on coins returned to the original number 13 representing the original 13 colonies. This obverse die was likely engraved in late 1797, then overdated with an 8 when used in 1798. All in all, this is a fantastic example of this issue, and one that will be the a solid representative of this prized eagle.

Ex Pogue II/Eliasberg/Clapp