1803 $10 Gold Eagle Incorrectly Attributed as BD-6 (R7) on GreatCollections
NSP
Posts: 322 ✭✭✭✭✭
I noticed the listing for the following 1803 $10 gold eagle on GreatCollections and saw that it was incorrectly attributed as BD-6. BD-6 is rated as R7 (extremely rare), but this coin is actually BD-5, which is only R4+ (very scarce). I’m concerned that someone could get “taken” by this, so I wanted to give a heads-up to PCGS and GreatCollections so that they can hopefully rectify this.
BD-5 and BD-6 are the only two “large star” reverses for 1803, and you can easily differentiate between the two die marriages just from the reverses. To demonstrate that the GreatCollections coin is misattributed, I’ve linked Stacks auction listings for an example of each die marriage (which appear to have came from the same die marriage collection):
I’ve marked up some key reverse die markers on the two Stacks coins and the GreatCollections coin to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the GreatCollections coin is not the extremely rare BD-6 (and is therefore the BD-5).
First, the Stacks BD-5:
Second, the Stacks BD-6:
Lastly, the GreatCollections coin:
The reverse of the GreatCollections coin clearly matches the BD-5 reverse, so this coin is definitely not the extremely rare BD-6 as the holder suggests. Since the coin has not yet left the person who originally submitted it for attribution (the owner has touted it multiple times on Instagram despite me telling him several times that it’s misattributed), PCGS would still have an opportunity to nip this in the bud, so to speak.
Granted, early gold eagle die marriage collectors can probably confirm die marriage attributions by themselves, but I would still hate to see someone get burned.
Comments
Good call. Some buyers would notice; some probably wouldn't. The auction houses and TPG's rely on people to report mistakes like this, so good thing you did.
I would hope anyone with the where with all and seriousness of collecting these expensive varieties would see it was mis-attributed. I'm sure Ian will correct the listing as he has done so before(might even pull the lot).
It looks like the auction listing was pulled, so that’s a good start! Hopefully PCGS will work to get the coin in a correct holder.
Thanks NSP for the thorough explanation and annotated images.
The coin is currently at PCGS and has been removed from auction.
Btw. I saw this post by chance - with something of this importance, please send me an e-mail (ian@greatcollections.com).
Owner/Founder GreatCollections
GreatCollections Coin Auctions - Certified Coin Auctions Every Week - Rare Coins & Coin Values
Thank you for looking into this, and I’ll be sure to email you next time!