1846 Small Date

Philadelphia struck 395,942 half eagles in 1846 across two date-logo varieties, and the Mint Report does not break out the totals. The Small Date came off a die punched with a more compact set of numerals, and surviving population evidence places it as the smaller share of the year. The coin was struck during the early months of the Mexican-American War, declared in May 1846, but the wartime gold flows that later reshaped Coronet half eagle production did not arrive until 1847 and 1848. California gold was still nearly two years off, since Sutter's Mill came in January 1848. The 1846 Philadelphia run reflects routine pre-Gold Rush business strikes, with bullion drawn from Southern domestic deposits and recoined foreign gold.

Attribution rests on the date itself. Small Date numerals stand shorter and sit more tightly together, occupying less horizontal space between the bust truncation and the denticles. The Large Date carries taller, more widely spaced figures that crowd the rim. PCGS and NGC both attribute the variety on the holder, so a third-party label is the cleanest path to confirming what a collector has in hand. Weight should fall near the 8.359 gram standard for the No Motto type and the diameter should hold at 21.6 mm, with a reeded edge and coin alignment. Counterfeit pressure on this specific variety is low, since fakers prefer common-date hosts that move easily, but altered dates remain worth a screen on any worn No Motto half eagle.

Most surviving 1846 Small Date examples grade Very Fine through About Uncirculated, and Mint State coins are genuinely scarce. The variety carries a meaningful premium over the Large Date in every grade, but it remains affordable by the standards of branch-mint No Motto half eagles, and Doug Winter has called it tough yet undervalued more than once. For collectors building a date-and-variety Coronet set, it is a necessary entry alongside the standard 1846 Large Date. For a type buyer, the Large Date is the easier pick. The Small Date earns its place in cabinets that pursue the No Motto series at the variety level, and a clean original About Uncirculated coin with attribution is the most defensible target for most budgets. Background on the broader design is in the Liberty Head Half Eagle series history.