1804 Capped Bust Right Eagle
The final date among circulation strike Capped Bust Right eagles, the 1804 is also one of the most popular and eagerly sought. The date 1804 is one that needs no introduction among advanced numismatists, associated as it is with several key date circulation strike coins, as well as the legendary 1804 dollar. The sole circulation strike variety of the 1804 eagle, BD-1 with a Crosslet 4 in the date, is also associated with the counterpart to the 1804 dollar, the Proof 1804 BD-2 Plain 4 eagle, which was produced during the 1830s for presentation to foreign leaders in an attempt to open new trade routes for the United States.
Contrary to popular belief, the 1804 Crosslet 4 was not the final circulation strike variety produced for the Capped Bust Right eagle series. That distinction goes to the 1803 BD-6, which utilizes the same reverse die, albeit in a later state. As such, at least some portion of the 3,757-piece mintage recorded for calendar year 1804 did not include coins of this date. The mintage from the 1804 BD-1 dies may be as small as 2,500 pieces (per John W. Dannreuther, 2006), and survivors are legitimately scarce and probably number no more than 100 or so coins. With the extreme popularity of this date in U.S. numismatics, as described above, the 1804 BD-1 eagle enjoys tremendous demand at all levels of preservation.
The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the D. Brent Pogue Part II Auction, where it realized $440,625.