1850 Small Date

The 1850 Small Date eagle is the scarcer of two date-logotype varieties struck at Philadelphia that year, separated not by mintmark but by the size of the date punch the engraver pulled from the Mint's logotype drawer. The Small Date numerals were cut from a smaller logotype originally intended for the half eagle denomination, producing a date with distinctly tighter spacing and a different visual footprint than the standard Large Date. Both varieties share a combined Philadelphia mintage of 291,451, and no per-variety production split was ever recorded, but specialists have long understood the Small Date to be the substantially rarer of the two, Doug Winter and PCGS catalogers place it at roughly two-and-a-half times scarcer than the Large Date. The issue belongs to the early Type 1 No Motto run that opened the 1850s mintage surge following the California gold strikes.

The Small Date diagnostic is straightforward once magnification is applied. The flag of the 5 is rather blunt at its base and nearly touches the ball of the digit, giving the numeral a closed appearance, while the point of the 1 sits well to the right of the bust point and stands roughly three times farther from the truncation than on the Large Date. PCGS or NGC attribution on the holder is the practical safeguard, since raw examples are routinely misattributed in trade. Standard specifications hold: 16.718 grams, 27 mm, 90% gold and 10% copper, with a net gold weight near 0.4838 troy ounce.

Population concentrates almost entirely in circulated grades, and the variety is a genuine condition rarity above AU. Specialists estimate only four or five Mint State survivors exist in any grade, and no Gem has ever been reported. A Doug Winter offering of an ex-Bass MS61 PCGS example illustrates the level at which trophy specimens trade hands, while attributed AU coins typically settle in the four-figure range and circulated VF-XF examples remain accessible for type-with-a-twist collectors. Buyers should insist on attributed holders, examine date positioning carefully, and prioritize coins with original surfaces, pedigreed examples carry a meaningful premium. Full date-variety context is covered in the Liberty Head Eagle series history.