1812

The 1812 Capped Bust Half Eagle marks the final year of John Reich's Capped Bust Left design, ending a six-year run that began in 1807. Starting in 1813, the Mint shifted to the Capped Head Left type, removing the drapery at Liberty's bust and adding a fillet across her cap. That makes 1812 the closing date of the original Reich half eagle portrait. The year also coincides with the outbreak of the War of 1812 in June, a conflict that disrupted Mint deposits and gold supply lines well into 1815. Roughly 58,087 pieces were struck at the Philadelphia Mint, a respectable figure for the era but a small one by modern standards. As a circulating gold coin worth nearly a week's wages for a skilled tradesman in 1812, the half eagle saw heavy commercial use and rarely stayed in one place for long.

Authentication for the 1812 begins with the basic specifications: a weight of 8.75 grams, a diameter of about 25.0 millimeters, and a composition of 91.67 percent gold alloyed with copper and silver. The edge is reeded, and the planchet should show the warm yellow tone of early federal gold rather than the rosier copper-rich look of later issues. Genuine pieces display sharp central detail on Liberty's cap and the eagle's shield, with star and date positioning that matches known die marriages cataloged by Bass and Dannreuther. Because pre-1834 half eagles were widely melted once the gold standard shifted, surviving examples are scarce and the market has long attracted altered dates and outright counterfeits, often produced from later Liberty Head host coins. Treat raw examples with skepticism unless they carry a recent grade from PCGS or NGC.

For modern collectors, the 1812 holds a position no other date in the series can claim: the type closer for Capped Bust Left half eagles. Anyone building a U.S. gold type set needs one example of this short subtype, and the 1812 is among the more available choices alongside the 1810 and 1811. Most survivors fall in the VF to AU range, with mint-state pieces commanding strong premiums driven by both rarity and historical bookend status. For full design history and the transition into the Capped Head Left type that followed, see the Capped Bust Half Eagle series history.