Capped Bust Half Eagle
The first few years of the United States mint were full of problems: the facilities were not adequate, it was difficult run the steel machine, and until 1816, men and horses provided the manpower to operate the machine. However, one of the most serious problems that the new enterprise faced was the lack of experienced staff, especially in the field of design and engraving.
When the Mint began operations after the Coinage Act of 1792, employing suitable officers and workmen became one of the first priorities. As early as 1790, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (then the Cabinet officer in charge of the Mint) had been attempting to recruit qualified artisans from European cities where minting methods were state of the art. Jefferson had attended an exhibition at the Paris Mint in 1786, where he observed the operation of an improved coining press and was quite impressed with the machine and its inventor, French engraver Jean Pierre Droz. Droz’s methods were at the cutting edge of late 18th-century technology, and Jefferson was determined to retain his services for the proposed United States Mint. After some initial correspondence in 1786-87, the matter was tabled, as Droz apparently needed immediate employment and the Mint’s opening was still several years away. In 1790, negotiations with Droz were resumed and initially he accepted Jefferson’s offer, but later he declined, citing personal reasons.
As the new Mint facility in Philadelphia began to take shape, a talented engraver was still to be found. Coiners Henry Voight and Adam Eckfeldt assisted in the preparation of the first dies, but it was not until August 1793 that the artist Joseph Wright was appointed as engraver. Unfortunately, Wright died a few weeks later from yellow fever, in the annual epidemic that struck Philadelphia in the summer months. He was succeeded by Robert Scot, an English watchmaker and banknote engraver of some repute. Scot’s talents as a die engraver, however, were marginal at best. Many of his early coinage designs received widespread criticism, putting him on the defensive from the very beginning. Apparently fearing competition, he thwarted every effort by Mint Director Henry DeSaussere to engage an assistant engraver. When John Smith Gardner was finally appointed to that position at the end of 1794, he lasted only 16 months, probably due to Scot’s jealousy and harassing tactics. For years, Scot’s authority and position would go unchallenged, and his designs continued to reflect his limited skills. Probably his best work is his 1795 design for the first half eagle, with its Draped Bust portrait of Liberty and its small eagle on the reverse. The small eagle gave way to the heraldic eagle in 1798, but by the turn of the century, Scot’s failing eyesight increasingly limited his usefulness as an engraver.
No date in the series is a very rare occurrence, and most copies in the categories range from extremely fine to non-circular. Mint state pieces are regularly available, and some gems occasionally appear—usually the 1807, 1809/8, 1810 or 1812 issues, the latter two dates surfacing in old hoards. In the past, this series was the target for counterfeiters and there are still many dangerous parts: every suspicious copy must be verified. A fade or a wear first shows on Liberty’s hair and caps, and on the tips of the eagles’ wings, gates and claws.