Draped Bust Gold $5 Half Eagles
Draped Bust Half Eagles (1795–1807)
The First Gold Coin Struck in the United States Was a Half Eagle, Delivered July 31, 1795
The Mint Act of April 2, 1792 authorized a gold coinage, but it also required the assayer and chief coiner to post $10,000 surety bonds before handling precious metal, and no gold or silver could be coined until Congress lowered those bonds in 1794; the Mint struck copper from 1793 and silver from 1794. Gold coinage waited until Chief Engraver Robert Scot had finished the necessary dies. On July 31, 1795, coiner Henry Voigt delivered 744 half eagles to the Treasurer of the Mint, the first gold coins struck in the United States. The first delivery of the ten-dollar eagle followed nearly two months later. The quarter eagle did not appear until 1796. Because the half eagle was the first federal gold denomination in production, the 1795 date is wanted by type collectors and by die-variety specialists. By the final delivery of the year on September 16, 8,707 half eagles bearing the 1795 date had been coined, though Dannreuther has identified evidence suggesting additional 1795-dated coins were struck in calendar year 1796 from dies carried over into that year, which would explain the higher-than-expected survivor count across twelve documented die marriages.1
Scot's Small Eagle Reverse Came from a Roman Cameo
Scot modeled the reverse eagle on an ancient cameo, likely a first-century Roman work, showing a perched eagle with wings outspread, holding a wreath in its beak and a palm branch in its claws. Critics, then and since, found the bird small and thin, and numismatic writers still describe it as "scrawny." The obverse depicts Liberty facing right in a soft cloth cap, her hair and bust draped in the classical manner. No denomination appears anywhere on the coin; the five-dollar value was implicit in its weight and purity, the way gold had always been valued. The early Mint operated in conditions of genuine scarcity: steel dies were expensive, yellow fever periodically closed the building, planchet supply was erratic, and depositors who brought gold for coinage could specify the denomination they wanted. Under these pressures the Mint routinely reused dies, struck coins from dies dated in earlier years and paired dies in unusual marriages, and the Bass-Dannreuther die study is the reference for working out what was actually struck and when.2
Yellow Fever Epidemics Created the Backdated Heraldic Eagle Half Eagles
After the 1797 yellow fever epidemic closed the Mint (August through November 1797), the serviceable 1795-dated obverse dies were stored rather than destroyed. When production resumed and a new Heraldic Eagle reverse became available in 1798, the old obverse dies were pressed back into service, creating coins bearing the 1795 obverse date on a 1798 Heraldic Eagle reverse. Similar circumstances produced 1797-dated obverse dies paired with the new reverse. These cross-type "combination" pieces, where the obverse and reverse designs belong to different design periods, are among the rarest half eagles of any date. The Heraldic Eagle reverse, adapted from the Great Seal of the United States, replaced the criticized Small Eagle beginning formally in 1798 and continued through 1807. The shield, E PLURIBUS UNUM motto on a ribbon above the eagle, stars arranged in arcs, and the olive branch and arrows in the eagle's talons are all elements drawn from the Seal. The 1797 Heraldic Eagle variety with sixteen obverse stars (added after Tennessee's admission to the Union) is unique and permanently held in the Smithsonian Institution.3
Building the Set
A type set requires two coins from this series: one Small Eagle half eagle and one Heraldic Eagle half eagle. The 1795 Small Eagle is the natural choice for the first type, combining first-year-of-issue status with the largest survivor population in the Small Eagle group. For the Heraldic Eagle type the usual pick is the 1806 Round Top 6 (Knobbed 6), which Breen called probably the commonest coin of the design. Gem (Mint State 65 or finer) examples of any date are individually notable; the realistic acquisition target across both types is Extremely Fine to About Uncirculated for the Small Eagle and About Uncirculated to lower Mint State for the Heraldic Eagle dates. A date set of the Small Eagle type founders on the 1798, of which only seven specimens have been traced; a practical Small Eagle date run therefore covers 1795, 1796, and 1797, a demanding but achievable trio. The Heraldic Eagle dates (1798 through 1807, excluding the rare 1797-dated combination pieces and Smithsonian-held rarities) offer more dates at comparable difficulty levels, and Mint State examples are scarce except for the commonest issues such as the 1806 Round Top 6. Beyond type and date, collectors can pursue the die marriages of both types as catalogued in the Bass-Dannreuther system. The primary specialist reference is Dannreuther, John W., and Bass, Harry W. Jr., Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795–1834 (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2006).4
Notes
- The Mint Act of April 2, 1792 and the $10,000 surety bonds required of the assayer and chief coiner, lowered by Congress in 1794; gold waiting until Scot's dies were ready; coiner Henry Voigt's delivery of 744 half eagles to the Treasurer of the Mint on July 31, 1795 as the first gold coins struck in the United States; the first $10 eagle delivery following on September 22; the quarter eagle not appearing until 1796; the 1795 mintage of 8,707 coins delivered through September 16; Dannreuther's evidence of additional 1795-dated coins struck in 1796 from carried-over dies; twelve documented die marriages for the 1795 date are from Dannreuther, John W., and Bass, Harry W. Jr., Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834 (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2006), and Bowers, Q. David, The History of United States Coinage as Illustrated by the Garrett Collection (Los Angeles: Bowers and Ruddy Galleries, 1979).
- The reverse eagle adapted from a first-century Roman onyx cameo showing a perched eagle with wreath and palm branch; criticism of the 'scrawny' Small Eagle; the obverse depicting Liberty facing right in a soft cloth cap; no denomination appearing on the coin, its value resting on weight and purity; the operating conditions of the early Mint (expensive dies, yellow fever closings, erratic planchet supply, depositor-specified denominations); die reuse and out-of-sequence dating; the Bass-Dannreuther die study as the reference for actual production are from Dannreuther and Bass (2006), and Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins (New York: F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, 1988).
- The 1795-dated obverse dies stored rather than destroyed after the 1797 yellow fever epidemic; the reuse of those dies with the Heraldic Eagle reverse in 1798, creating backdated combination pieces; similar circumstances producing 1797-dated obverses paired with the new reverse; the rarity of these combination pieces; the Heraldic Eagle reverse adapted from the Great Seal (shield, E PLURIBUS UNUM ribbon, stars, olive branch and arrows); the 1797 Heraldic Eagle variety with sixteen obverse stars as unique and held in the Smithsonian Institution are from Dannreuther and Bass (2006), and Breen (1988).
- The two-type-set requirement; the 1795 as the most plentiful Small Eagle date; the 1806 Round Top (Knobbed) 6 as probably the commonest coin of the Heraldic design and the source of most near-Mint State survivors; the realistic grade targets; the 1798 Small Eagle at seven known as the obstacle to a complete Small Eagle date run; the practical run of 1795, 1796 and 1797; the Bass-Dannreuther die marriages; and the primary reference are from Dannreuther and Bass (2006) and Breen (1988).
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