Bruce S. Sherman Collection 1798 Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle Half Eagle Brings $3 Million at FUN Auction

One highlight of the multiday 2025 FUN U.S. Coins Signature Auction was the sale of Part I of the Bruce S. Sherman Collection.

A highlight of the multiday 2025 FUN U.S. Coins Signature Auction was the sale of Part I of the Bruce S. Sherman Collection, which offered a variety of high interest coins.

Included was the finest of only seven known examples of a 1798 Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle half eagle, graded About Uncirculated 55 by Professional Coin Grading Service.

The 1798 Small Eagle half eagle is among the rarest and most enigmatic issues in American numismatics. Of the seven known examples, two are included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution and out of the reach of collectors. Of the population, no Mint State examples are known.

After more than two dozen bids were placed at the sale, a bid of $3,000,000 won out in the end. The sale set a new record, eclipsing the previous auction record for the coin type of $1.98 million set at Heritage just last year.