United States 1797 10 dollars Fr-153
This specimen was lot 3242 in Sincona sale 87 (Zürich, October 2023), where it sold for 28,000 CHF (about US$37,705 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"USA, 10 Dollars 1797, Philadelphia. Liberty cap type. Large Eagle. Very rare. NGC AU58."
The first ten dollar gold pieces were struck in 1795; the reverse was modified in 1797 to use the heraldic eagle shown here. Mintages were low, as the mint had little access to bullion, and the output was quickly bought up by speculators and exported, as the coin had more than ten dollars worth of gold. The type, struck until 1804, is rare and expensive today. Three die pairs are known for 1797 with the large eagle.
Recorded mintage: 10,940, a better date.
Specification: 17.50 g, 0.916 fine gold, 33 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 30, Fr-153.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 87, World Coins and Medals, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2023.
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