Half Eagles
1802/1 $5 Gold PCGS AU55 CAC
Written/Compiled by Dennis
Hengeveld
The United States Mint located in Philadelphia
shows in their records that a total of 26,006 five dollar
gold pieces, or half eagles, were struck during the calendar
year of 1801. However, after more then two centuries not a
single example of that date is known to exist, and
collectors have rarely considered the possibility of the
existence of an 1801 half eagle. It is commonly accepted and
most likely true that all half eagles struck in 1801 were
backdated, perhaps as far back as 1799 or even 1798, as
suggested by some numismatists and researchers. This was
common practice at the early United States Mint, as dies
were often illogically paired when they were still useable,
one of many methods of keeping the costs low and in control.
In an early nation as the United States the economy was
still developing, especially so in the agricultural society
of the late 18th century, and money was scarce. As a result,
we now have a large number of different issues which might
have not existed at all, or in the case of the 1801 half
eagles, should have existed but do not.
In spite of the above, at least two half
eagle obverse dies dated 1801 were made. These remained
unused, and both would be overdated to 1802/1 dies.
These dies are differentiated by either a centered
overdate or a high overdate. A total of eight different
die pairings were used, with the centered overdate
striking five of the varieties while the high overdate
was only used on three. According to research published
by Bass-Dannreuther the centered overdate was used
first, and it failed while producing BD-5, a very rare
variety with perhaps ten pieces known at most. Prior to
that point all reverse dies had failed first, and for
some reason this appears to have been the case with most
early American gold coinage. The reverse die used on
BD-5 would continue to strike half eagles while paired
with the high overdated obverse die. Two more reverse
dies were used for coinage, and an estimated 53,176 half
eagles are said to have been struck from all die
pairings. Most references on the subject have noted that
the number produced might have been higher, but from the
number of pieces known to exist it appears to be
correct.
None of the eight die pairings can be considered
to be common, but some are more available than others. Three
of the centered overdate varieties have less than 10 pieces
known to exist in all grades, including pieces permanently
impounded in museum collections. The two other varieties are
more available, with an estimated 75 to 100 known in all
grades. The most common variety of this date is the final
coin, BD-8 which has an estimated 150 to 200 pieces known to
exist in all grades, and as can be guessed it is also the
variety which is usually available. It must be noted that
the other available variety, BD-7, is known to have struck
while mintage of 1803 half eagles was already ongoing.
Apparently, the obverse die had cracked while striking coins
and was being lapped by the Mint employees. While in that
process the reverse die continued to strike coins, but was
not paired with an 1803 overdated die. As the 1802/1 obverse
die was lapped sufficiently it re-entered production, using
the same reverse die. After the obverse die was finally
retired the reverse die was again paired with the 1803
obverse die until it was retired as well. This is another
indication of all the efforts the Mint put in their
cost-cutting while producing coins.
As many other American gold coins of this era this date
is generally available, but could not be called common
at all. Unlike later dates many were not melted in the
1830s, but others had already been exported and had been
melted overseas. Pieces that did survive have often been
cleaned and show damage, and are usually avoided by
specialized collectors and investors. Most of the pieces
that survive with no problems are in lower About
Uncirculated condition, indicating that they did
circulate for some time until put away for a long
period. Uncirculated examples are rare, but are
sometimes available in the lower mint state grades, and
occasionally at auction in near-gem quality. Any
opportunity to buy such a coin should be considered with
great care, as chances are slim that such pieces would
appear on the market with any frequency. It must be
noted that the population reports of the major grading
companies show an unusual large number of MS-64 coins.
From our research of auction appearance it appears that
more than half of those numbers are resubmissions, and
that perhaps no more than seven or eight MS-64 1802/1
half eagles exist. Three pieces have been graded higher,
and they are among the grandest of all early 19th
century American gold coinage.
