1795 Recut Date, 3 Leaves

The 1795 Recut Date, 3 Leaves half dollar sits at an unusual crossroads in the Flowing Hair series because it pairs two separate die distinctions on a single coin. The obverse carries a recut date (a date punched twice into the working die, with the first impression placed too low and a corrected second impression cut over it, leaving the original numerals partially visible inside the final date). The reverse belongs to the small group of 1795 dies that show three leaves under each of the eagle's wings instead of the two-leaf cluster found on the majority of marriages. Al C. Overton, whose 1967 reference catalogued the early half dollar die marriages still used as the working framework today, assigned this combination its own number (O-111) and rated it Rarity-4+, meaning roughly fewer than 100 known across all grades. Within the wider 1795 Overton landscape of more than thirty marriages, it is the only pairing that links a recut obverse date with the rarer three-leaf reverse hub.

Authentication runs through two specific checks. First, the recut date itself should show clear remnants of the original numerals positioned below the corrected date, examinable under a 10x loupe. On genuine examples the underdigits read as a separate, deeper impression rather than the shallow shelf produced by machine doubling (mechanical bounce of the die or planchet at the moment of strike, which leaves a flat ridge rather than full numeral outlines). Compare the placement of the lower numerals against published Overton plate photography before accepting the attribution. Second, count the leaves directly beneath each of the eagle's wings on the reverse. The Three Leaves arrangement shows a distinct third leaf at the base of each cluster, where the two-leaves marriages stop at two. Later die states of O-111 also show a substantial die break that runs through the left wing into the eagle's body, a useful confirming marker that should not be confused with post-mint damage along the same path.

Demand for this variety comes from two directions. Early-half-dollar specialists working a complete Overton set treat O-111 as a structural requirement they cannot substitute around, and Flowing Hair type collectors who already own a plain 1795 occasionally upgrade into one of the recut-date marriages to add depth without taking on a 1794. The combined 1795 mintage of 299,680 across all marriages says little about how many O-111 coins were actually produced, and the surviving population estimate sits well below the figures for common marriages. Lower-circulated examples in problem-free Good through Fine grades transact in the $1,000-$2,500 range, while sharper Very Fine and Extremely Fine pieces step up sharply, and the rare About Uncirculated and Mint State survivors have crossed into five- and six-figure territory at auction. Originality, the visibility of the recut underdigits, and the clarity of the three-leaf reverse all carry material weight in pricing. For broader context, see the Flowing Hair Half Dollar series history.