US Coins

Market Analysis: Bass gold coins with problems

An 1834 Plain 4, Classic Head $5 gold half eagle graded PCGS Genuine, AU Details, Test Cut brought $3,600 while another example graded PCGS Genuine, Unc. Details, Graffiti realized $4,800.

All images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

A budget of under $5,000 could also get one of Bass’s signature gold coins in Heritage’s January Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation Core Collection auction.

An 1834 Classic Head, Plain 4 gold $5 half eagle graded Professional Coin Grading Service Genuine, About Uncirculated Details, Test Cut sold for $3,600. Heritage noted traces of Mint luster in the protected areas, observing, “This lightly abraded example displays About Uncirculated sharpness, with a test cut on the obverse rim at 1 o’clock and another cut — shallower, but longer — at 2 o’clock on the rim.”

Bringing $4,800 was another 1834 Classic Head, Plain 4 half eagle, this one graded PCGS Genuine, Uncirculated Details, Graffiti representing the scarcer HM-7 die variety. An “X” inscribed near star 6 on the obverse, along with some adjacent pinscratches, is observed, but Heritage praised the luster, adding, “light-orange accents grace the medium green-gold coloration.”

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