Draped Bust Half Eagle
Long before the minting of this coin began in 1793, officials were aware of the need to maintain the integrity of American coins. A country’s currency is its the face to the world; Not only should they be the right weight, but it was equally important that they be strong and reliable. Particular attention was paid to the preparation of gold and silver plates, but was attracted by the design in which the Mint initially fell short. Public criticism of the first set of coins made the producers an object of ridicule to a great extent. No one wanted another chain of fire, where the public wrongly interpreted related bonds as chains of slavery. Money can not afford anything less than perfection in weight or design.
In June 1795, Henry DeSaussure replaced David Rittenhouse at the head of the mint. His initial goals were to start hitting gold coins and improving current coin designs. According to Rittenhouse’s orders, Engraver Robert Scot had already cast the die, and on July 31, 1795, 744 half eagles were delivered: the first gold coins made by the United States Mint.
The Scottish image of freedom in the new coins was a classic drawing, in line with the Roman cries of Hellenistic Greek, with naked hair and a big hat. The bust is covered so as not to offend the “modern” eyes of the late eighteenth century with the slight sensuality of the old motif. The first century inspired cameo of Rome, inspired on the reverse, bears a winged witch with crowns, holding a crown on the beak and a palm branch in the claws. A small stylized eagle is often called the “chicken eagle” of the first people, a name that is sometimes heard in today’s numismatic community. With the date, only the LIBERTY and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA records are in the currency: no denomination or declaration of value appears.
Only 18,512 Draped Bust/Small Eagle fives were produced from 1795 through 1798, and most didn’t escape the huge melts that later destroyed the bulk of U.S. gold coinage minted before 1834. Survivors, particularly in high grade, are very scarce. By far, the most common date of the series is 1795: With 8,707 minted and many saved as first year of issue “souvenirs,” this is the date seen most often in type sets. It is generally found with bright, prooflike fields, and often with lint marks—vestiges of lint from the soft cloths used to frequently wipe and polish the dies. Choice mint-state specimens exist but are very rare. Even the seven examples of this date in the famed “Eliasberg Sale” only ranged from XF to AU. An interesting error of this year is the S over D variety, a blunder created when the word STATED was first punched into the reverse die and then corrected by overpunching the D with an S.
Early fives, along with large cents, were among the first issues collected as the hobby took root in the mid-to-late 19th-century. Later, as numismatic scholarship advanced, some collectors such as John Clapp and Walter Breen turned their attention to die varieties. Today only a few dedicated specialists still form collections based on these variations. The vast majority of collectors pursue these coins for type sets.
The series of small half eagles was terminated in early 1798. The Scottish heraldic eagle drawing in reverse, fitted with a large stamp of the United States, appeared in later editions this year and continued until 1807. It has been made for many more years and in larger quantities the heraldic eagle species is found much more often than its predecessor. Rarely is a Small Eagle five seen on a bourse floor; generally, only major auctions offer a pattern. Its simple and elegant design, along with the status of the first half of the eagle, makes the eagle a true American classic.