1803 Draped Bust Dime. JR-5. Rarity-7+. EF Details (NGC).

1803 Draped Bust Dime. JR-5. Rarity-7+. EF Details (NGC).，A highly significant offering for the advanced early dime variety collector, this is the discovery specimen and finest of only four known examples of the 1803 JR-5 dies. Well balanced and actually quite pleasing to the eye, both sides retain bold outline definition to all devices with some sharper detail in the recessed areas of the design. The eagles wing feathers are particularly crisp, both sides also displaying uniformly denticulated borders from a nicely centered strike. Central definition is soft, but not uncommonly so for a lightly circulated Draped Bust dime. Wispy pin scratches are noted for accuracy, but more significant in light of the details grade from NGC are scattered swirls of light surface encrustation that are most readily evident on the reverse around the eagle. Otherwise, pearl gray patina dominates the overall appearance.<p>As previously stated, this is the discovery coin for the 1803 JR-5 variety, the first new discovery of die marriage in this series since the 1984 publication of the book <em>Early United States Dimes: 1796-1837</em> by the John Reich Collectors Society. Ed Price acquired this coin from Jonathan Kern at the February 1993 Long Beach Expo and, upon returning to his hotel room, immediately recognized that it was a previously unknown variety of the 1803 issue. Price announced the discovery in the April 1993 issue of the <em>John Reich Journal</em> (Volume 7, Issue 3, pp. 14-17). Since that time, only three additional specimens have been confirmed, all of which are in lower grades than the discovery coin. The four known examples are:<p>1 - <strong>NGC EF Details.</strong> Ex our (Stacks) sale of the George C. Slawson Estate Collection, April 1970, lot 282, unattributed; Jonathan Kern, February 1993; Ed Price; Heritages sale of the Ed Price Collection, July-August 2008, lot 1440. <strong><em>The present example</em></strong>.<p>2 - <strong>Fine-Very Fine, Granular and Scratched.</strong> Ex our (Stacks) sale of the Laurence H. Gardner Collection from the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, March 2005, lot 480.<p>3 - <strong>PCGS VG-8.</strong> Private collection.<p>4 - <strong>AG-3, or so.</strong> Private collection.<p>One of our most significant early dime offerings in recent years, we anticipate strong competition for this important rarity among advanced collectors of this series.<p>The 1803 JR-5 variety combines the obverse of JR-4 with a previously unknown reverse. The most readily identifiable diagnostic of the reverse is bold repunching to the first star in the field above the eagle, which displays nine distinct points.，Ex our (Stacks) sale of the George C. Slawson Estate Collection, April 1970, lot 282, unattributed; Jonathan Kern, February 1993; Ed Price; Heritages sale of the Ed Price Collection, July-August 2008, lot 1440. The discovery coin for the 1803 JR-5 variety, which announcement was made in the April 1993 issue of the <em>John Reich Journal</em> (Volume 7, Issue 3, pp. 14-17). The plate coin for the variety in the 2015 reference <em>Bust Dime Variety Identification Guide</em> by Winston Zack, Louis Scuderi and Michael Sherrill.，