United States 1808 5 dollars
This specimen was lot 1135 in Sincona Auction 100 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 12,000 CHF (about US$18,087 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"USA 5 Dollars 1808, Philadelphia. Liberty head type. Turban bust left. Drapiertes Brustbild der Liberty mit Mütze, auf der LIBERTY steht, zwischen 13 Sternen, unten die Jahreszahl. Rv. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Auffliegender Adler mit Brustschild und Lorbeerzweig und Pfeilen in den Klauen unter einem Spruchband mit E PLURIBUS UNUM, unten die Wertangabe. Sehr selten. PCGS MS62. Prachtvolle Erhaltung. (United States, five dollars of 1808, Philadelphia mint, turban head. obverse: draped bust of liberty left with turban, surrounded by 13 stars; reverse: a rising eagle with a shield on its breast and a olive branch and arrows in its claws, value below. Very rare, Magnificent condition.)"
This type, usually called the "capped bust", was struck 1807-12 in moderate numbers. A rise in the price of gold caused many to be melted by gold speculators, rendering it rare today.
Recorded mintage: 55,578, including an 1808/7 overdate.
Specification: 8.75 g, 0.916 fine gold, 25 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 38, Fr-132.
- 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, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 100: SINCONA Jubilee Auction, Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
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