1795-1807 Draped Bust Half Eagles
The 1795 Draped Bust Half Eagle (Buy on eBay) with the heraldic eagle reverse is believed to have been struck in 1797 or 1798. The issue combines an old 1795-dated obverse die with a new reverse die carrying the design introduced in 1797. This mismatch results in the obverse having 15 stars, while the reverse […]
The 1797 Draped Bust Half Eagle (Buy on eBay) with the heraldic eagle reverse is found in three different varieties, with two of these represented by only a single known specimen. These varieties were created through the pairing of different obverse dies with the new heraldic eagle reverse die. The mintages for each of the […]
The 1798 Draped Bust Half Eagle (Buy on eBay) with the small eagle reverse represents an extremely rare variety of the series created through the pairing of obverse and reverse dies across multiple years. The issue combines a new 1798-dated obverse die with a reverse die originally used to strike 1795-dated coins. In the early […]
The mintage levels for the Draped Bust Half Eagle depended on the amount of gold bullion deposited at the Mint. In the earliest years of the series, the quantity deposited was low resulting in extremely limited mintages. The levels rose during the latter part of the series and particularly after the turn of the century, […]
In addition to representing the first issue for the type and denomination, the 1795 Draped Bust Half Eagle (Buy on eBay) with the small eagle reverse also represents the first gold coin ever produced by the United States Mint. This important status makes the issue very popular with collectors. The coin had a mintage of […]
Under the Coinage Act of 1792, Draped Bust Half Eagles were struck from a composition of 91.67% gold and 8.33% silver and copper. The coins have an approximate diameter of 25 mm and weight of 8.75 grams, with some variation possible due to the handmade nature of the planchets. All coins have a reeded edge. […]