Half Eagles
1798 Large 8, 14 Stars Reverse $5 Draped Bust $5 NGC AU58+
Written/Compiled by Dennis
Hengeveld
Allegedly produced in one of the most interesting
coinage years for Half Eagles ever, the 1798 $5 gold piece
with the large or heraldic eagle reverse is a very enigmatic
issue. Its mintage is usually quoted to be 24,867 pieces for
circulation, but we are unsure if that number actually is
correct. This can be blamed on the many different issues the
early United States Mint produced in Philadelphia, and the
lack of sufficient contemporary resources to determine exact
mintages of certain issues. Yet, from the estimated number
of pieces known for this issue and the frequency of auction
appearances it seems that the number mentioned above could
very well be right in the ballpark.
According to the Bass-Dannreuther reference,
which has become the main work on the subject of all
early gold denominations, there are a total of seven
different varieties. These were struck from six
different obverses combined with seven different
reverses, ranging in rarity from R-4+ (75 to 150 known)
to R-7 (4 to 12 known). Since the publication of the
reference a lot of attention has been given to the
individual varieties of the early American gold coinage.
Further attention is given to individual die states of
the dies, which is very interesting to determine the
exact or suggested emissions sequences of certain years.
However, it remains extremely difficult to acquire even
a full set of die varieties, regardless of die state for
a single date, so most specialized collectors will
collect one of the major varieties of this date:
Large 8 in date
Small 8 in date
14 stars on reverse
While differences in date size are frequently found on
early American coinage, as all numerals were hand made
and punched on the die, the 14 star reverse is more
interesting. It can readily identified by an extra star
above the eagle’s head of the reverse. For further
verification it shows a large 8 in the date, and could
also be placed as a subvariety within that group. Its
mintage has been estimated to have been between 2,500
and 3,500 pieces, with an estimated three dozen to fifty
pieces currently known in all grades at most. The
obverse die remained in more or less perfect state
through out the striking, but the reverse die seems to
have cracked soon after the minting was initiated and
virtually every known specimen shows one or more die
cracks on the reverse. The die was lapped to remove the
cracks from the surface of the coin, but soon afterwards
more cracks appeared and the die was retired after that.
The obverse die continued to strike a single other
variety afterwards but started to crack as well and was
retired and (presumably) destroyed after 5,000 to 7,000
more half eagles, dated 1798, had been struck.
Regardless of variety, this remains a rare issue,
especially in higher grades and in undamaged condition. Many
pieces have been cleaned over the years, and while they are
still in demand they are not as difficult to find as truly
original pieces. Uncirculated examples are even rarer for
any of the varieties, although the majority of all coins of
this date are representatives of the large 8, 13 reverse
stars variety. As such, any opportunity to buy a high end
About Uncirculated or Uncirculated 1798 $5 gold piece with
the large eagle reverse should be considered with great
care.
