Heritage’s FUN Auctions Open Strong With $7.17 Million

A 1797 BD-4 Half Eagle, AU58+ PCGS. HBJ-209 and an 1834 BD-4 Half Eagle, MS64+ PCGS. CAC HBJ-268 each sold for $268,400 to lead Heritage’s FUN Special Sessions: Ellsworth & Jacobson to $7,174,036.

The special sessions marked the opening of Heritage’s FUN US Coins Signature® Auction, which continues Jan. 14-17.

The Harvey B. Jacobson, Jr. Collection of Early Half Eagles is a 68-lot trove of the rarest and most important varieties of the entire early half eagle series. The lots in the collection reflect the years Jacobson spent chasing the rarest of the rare, an effort that ended with his acquisition of every early gold variety that eluded Harry W. Bass Jr.; the only exceptions were two unique 1797 varieties that are housed in the Smithsonian Institution.

The COL Steven Ellsworth Collection of U.S. Large Cents 1793-1796, acquired over the last four decades and presented in partnership with Chris Victor-McCawley’s Early Cents Auctions, included every Sheldon number of the Chain, Wreath and Liberty Cap types, as well as three of the 21 Sheldon “NC” varieties.

“Elite collections of exceptional coins produce extraordinary results, and that is exactly what happened with these two magnificent collections,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “The coins in each represent the decades of deep understanding of the significance of the coins in each, resulting in collections that are undeniably elite, in both quantity and quality.”

“I am very pleased with the results of the auction,” Jacobson says. “Heritage did an excellent job marketing the collection and achieving excellent results in the auction, and the auctioneer, Mike Sadler, was outstanding — as usual!”

The 1797 Small Eagle that shared top-lot honors drew 22 bids before reaching its ultimate result.

The 1834 BD-4 half eagle also drew widespread interest, reeling in 19 bids. Dubbed the “King of Fat Head Fives,” it is tied with one other submission for the finest 1834 Capped Bust half eagle ever submitted to PCGS. Only six ever have been graded CAC; of those, two were MS63 coins and four were MS64. This is the only MS64+ example. The provenance of the unique BD-4 serves as the condition census for this variety.

An 1828 BD-3 Half Eagle, MS61 PCGS HBJ-263 sold for an auction-record $256,200, surpassing the previous mark of $228,000 that was set at Heritage in 2023 for the same coin. This magnificent coin is one of just two confirmed pieces, and the only one available to collectors — its twin resides in the Smithsonian.

Another top performer was a 1795 BD-13 Heraldic Eagle Five, MS62 PCGS HBJ-207 that closed at $207,400 to set an auction record for the unique BD-13 variety.

Doug Winter called it “one of the very few early gold varieties that is unique and the fact that such early researchers and collectors as Edgar Adams, Waldo Newcomer, Walter Breen and Harry Bass never found one is a true testament to the numismatic significance of the Jacobson Collection.”

An 1812 BD-2 Narrow 5D Half Eagle, MS65 PCGS CAC HBJ-248 set an auction record for the BD-2 variety when it ended at $158,600, easily surpassing the previous auction record of $105,750. It is one of just three 1812 half eagles graded MS65 that CAC has approved, with a single finer coin approved at the MS66 grade level.

The finest of three known examples of an 1834 Capped Head Left Five Dollar With Motto MS64 HBJ-267 also established a new auction record for the BD-3 variety when it brought a winning bid of $122,000. The previous record of $109,250 was set in 2008.

Other top results from the Harvey B. Jacobson Collection included, but were not limited to:

Leading the 98 lots from the COL Steven Ellsworth Collection was one of the finest examples extant of a 1795 S-79 Reeded Edge Cent, VG Details, PCGS. The Sheldon-79 variety combines a unique 1795 obverse die mated with a reverse die that was used to strike this variety and no fewer than six Draped Bust varieties dated 1796. With only 10 known examples, the S-79 variety is the undisputed key to completing a set of the numbered Sheldon varieties from 1793 S-1 through 1814 S-295.

A 1793 S-15 Liberty Cap Cent, VG8 PCGS, the third-finest of the variety Dr. Sheldon called “The Aristocrat” of early cents, drew 27 bids on its way to $134,200.

A 1794 S-53 Head of 1794 Cent, AU50 PCGS, reported to be the discovery coin for the variety, brought $109,800. Its provenance includes a previous spot in the Henry C. Miller Collection that was renowned for its extraordinary completeness and preservation of cents and half cents. Miller’s runs of 1794 and 1796 cents were among the most complete and finest in existence, with hundreds of die varieties represented.

Other top results from the COL Steven Ellsworth Collection included, but were not limited to:

• A 1793 Liberty Cap Cent, VF35 PCGS: $97,600
• A 1794 S-38 Head of 1794 Cent, MS63 Brown PCGS: $91,500
• A 1794 S-32 Head of 1794 Cent, MS64+ Brown PCGS CAC Approved: $85,400
• A 1793 S-4 Chain, AMERICA Cent, XF45 PCGS: $85,400
• A 1793 S-5 Wreath Cent, MS62 Brown PCGS: $85,400

“I’ve done about 40 shows a year for 40 years, and this is the best collection I could put together,” COL Ellsworth said. “The promotion, advertising and marketing Heritage did for this was really good, the auctioneer was terrific, and the catalog will be a reference book for the next 100 years.”

Complete results can be found at HA.com/1389.

About Heritage Auctions

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