A quick look at a 1796 Quarter Eagle Without Stars, BD-1 variety, may not impress your artistic sensibilities, as this is somewhat of an “ugly duckling” design created by the early US Mint. The lack of any stars around the border is believed by some to provide a somewhat unbalanced design.
However, what may at first glance seem to be an ugly duckling of a coin is actually the holy grail for many collectors of gold coins or early American coinage–these pieces are truly rare and are infrequently available in higher grades. The Harry W. Bass Jr. Museum Sylloge calls this BD-1 variety the “Holy Grail variety among early quarter eagles.”
AUCTION PREVIEW: Heritage Auctions will be featuring a 1796 No Stars Quarter Eagle BD-1, graded PCGS XF45 and verified by CAC, in the upcoming June Long Beach auction.
As our catalogers explain, “This is the rarest quarter eagle variety from 1796 to 1807, and probably the rarest from 1796 to 1834. Only the relatively unknown 1825 BD-1 quarter eagle that Harry Bass discovered will challenge the 1796 BD-1 marriage for the rarest variety honors.”
This coin is also pedigreed to the Ed Price collection. Mr. Price owned the coin from 1992 until he sold it with Heritage in 2008, where it brought a record price at the time–$207,000. While the market may have changed since then, this piece is still a true standout for the variety collector, gold coin collector, or student of US history. It is also important to type coin collectors as a one-year type without stars. The stars around the obverse border were added later in 1796, so this is the only coin produced with this particular No Stars design.
This early American piece is one of the first gold coins produced at the US Mint and had a wonderful history. Can you picture what founding fathers might have had one of these pieces in their pockets?
Given the fact that a minuscule 963 coins were struck, very few remain in any grade for collectors today. Expect significant interest when this piece comes up for bid! Browse the auction.