1804 Proof Gold Eagle Sells for $5.2 Million Dollars
A 1804 plain 4 proof eagle just sold for a record $5.2 Million dollars. This coin is an extremely rare early gold proof and the finest of just 3 known coins.
1804 $10 Plain 4, BD-2, JD-1, Judd-33, High R.7, PR65+ Deep Cameo PCGS. CAC. Ex: Simpson. The 1804 Plain 4 proof eagle is one of the rarest and most valuable issues in the history of American coinage. Like their more famous 1804 dollar counterparts, the 1804 Plain 4 eagles were struck for inclusion in diplomatic presentation proof sets intended as gifts for various foreign rulers in the mid-1830s. Only four pieces were struck and just three examples are known to numismatists today. One of the three survivors is included in the Harry Bass Core Collection, on display at ANA headquarters and permanently off the market. Heritage Auctions is privileged to offer the finest-known example of this sought-after early gold rarity, from the remarkable Bob R. Simpson Collection.
Origin of the 1804 Plain 4 Eagle The United States sought to establish favorable trade agreements with several Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern nations in the mid-1830s. To accomplish this, special envoy Edmund Roberts was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to help secure treaties with specific nations in the area. Diplomatic etiquette of the time called for an exchange of gifts between the interested parties. Accordingly, a large program of appropriate gifts was assembled for the King of Siam, the Sultan of Muscat, and the Emperors of Cochin China and Japan. Each ruler was to receive a personalized package of maps, pistols, clocks, telescopes, cut glass, and other objects of the finest American workmanship. Each gift package was also to contain a boxed-set of high-quality proof coins of the United States.
1804 Proof Gold Eagle Official Ha.com