1805 $5.00 NGC AU55

BD-1, Rarity-3. . Perfect 1 in date; IT in UNITED close. I purchased this coin at the recent Baltimore show from a collector whose eye is, in my opinion, excellent and it had resided in his collection for a number of years. It is a splendid early half eagle that has great rich green-gold color that is accentuated by natural coppery hues. The obverse shows some light friction in the fields which has lightened the color; the reverse is evenly toned and choice. Both sides show a good, even strike and most of the details are up and bold with the exception of the radial lines in the obverse stars. There are no abrasions of note, no adjustment marks and the edges lack any bumps or bruises. Locating early half eagles in this grade/price range has never been more difficult and most of the pieces that I see offered for sale these days have been heavily processed and/or are very problematic.