Half
Eagles
The half eagle gold coin was the first
gold coins actually struck for the United States. The
five-dollar piece was authorized to be coined by the
Act of April 2, 1792, and the first type weighed 135
grains, .9167 fineness. The very first gold coin of
the USA was struck in 1795. This half eagle type is
called the Capped Bust to Right, and it was struck between
1795 and 1807. In 1795, there were actually two reverses
made for these gold coins, the 1795 Small Eagle, and
the 1795 with the Heraldic Eagle reverse. The level
of interest for United States Half Eagle gold coins
of this area is high and not only by collectors, but
these early gold half eagles are also targeted by investors.
Technically, there are only 5 different dated small
eagle early gold half eagles although in the case of
the 1798 half eagle, there are only 7 known small eagle
types. In the early half eagle, heraldic eagle reverse,
struck between 1795 and1807, there’s only 17 different
coins but again with several dates that are essentially
impossible to acquire such as the 1797 16 star obverse
and 1797 15 star obverse which are permanently impounded
in the Smithsonian collection. The pursuit of a collection
of US early gold half eagle coins by date is a very
desirable set of gold coins that is pursued by both
advanced collectors as well as investors.
After the Capped Bust to Right half eagle gold coin
series, the Capped Bust to Left series ( 1807-1812 )
started, followed by the Capped Head to Left ( 1813-1834
)
The Act of June 28, 1834, changed the weight to 129
grains, .8992 fineness. Fineness became .900 by the
Act of January 18, 1837.
There are many varieties among the early dated half
eagle gold coins, caused by changes in the number of
stars and style of eagle, by over dates, by differences
in the size of figures in the dates and also by the
changes in the weight of these gold coins. Those dated
prior to 1807 do not bear any mark of value. The 1822
half eagle is considered one of the most valuable regular-issue
coins of the entire United States series.
Proofs of some dates prior to 1855 are known to exist,
and all are rare. Commemorative and bullion $5 coins
have been made at West Point since 1986 and 1994, respectively;
thus this is the only U.S. denomination made at each
of the eight mints.
Gold coin collecting is a hobby shared by millions of
people around the globe. The collecting and investing
in United States Half Eagle gold coins has thousands
of participants, some of whom collect early gold half
eagles, some who invest in them purely for profit, collect
the half eagles stuck by specific mints , and even those
who strive to include one of every collectible date.
Then there are those investors who strive for only the
finest known or who purchase “proof half eagles”,
those coins which were struck for presentation in the
early years and those proof half eagle gold coins which
in later years were stuck for collectors and are considered
by many to be the ultimate of the minters art, for art
they truly are.
We hope you will enjoy the information presented here
at halfeagles.com. Please note that this is an on-going
effort to build a comprehensive guide to United States
Half Eagle gold coins.
Happy Collecting!
Tom
United States Half Eagles
Half Eagles - Half Eagle
Gold Coins
|
