Half Eagles
1807 $5 Bust Left PCGS MS63
Written/Compiled by Dennis
Hengeveld
1807 was the final year that the Draped Bust
(Left) half eagle was struck for circulation, and it ended a
curious series of many different dies and confusing die
pairs. When the type was designed by Robert Scot and
introduced for coinage, the Mint in Philadelphia (the only
Mint at the time) had a difficult time producing good
products at a fairly steady rate. Dies broke early, causing
them to be replaced with anything that was available, and
creating various curious and now rare issues. But when the
series ended in 1807 and was replaced with a new design, the
Mint was turning out a steady supply of gold coinage, with
the half eagle now being the largest denomination. Dies did
still break, or had other problems, but in average dies
lasted longer, producing tens of thousands of coins each.
This would be nearly unthinkable only a few years earlier,
but now it was standard and it generated a good profit for
the Mint, who had less material costs and thus was able to
generate a greater, and much needed profit.
The mintage of this issue has been quoted at
32,488 pieces. Modern research, however, and listings in
19th century Mint records have indicated a mintage of
33,496 pieces. Whatever the true number is, this remains
to be a very scarce issue, and not as easily available
as the mintage might suggest. Estimates of pieces that
remain to exist have ranged the last few years from
approximately 358 (Bass-Dannreuther) to almost 1000
coins (various auction cataloguers). From our research,
and the frequency of auction appearances we would say
approximately 400 to 500 pieces remain to exist in all
grades, including damaged, cleaned or other problem
pieces. Truly original coins, as is the case with all
early gold coins, are very rare, and seldom offered in
any grade.
Breen, in his Encyclopedia, listed a total of
four different major varieties, a relative large number for
that reference. Bass-Dannreuther, in their recent reference
on all Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties lists a total of six
different die pairs. This would indicate that Breen thought
that most of the varieties were major enough to warrant a
separate listing, but usually this date is considered to be
a single issue without major varieties. The major
differences, as per both Breen and Bass-Dannreuther, are in
the size of the date and that of the reverse stars. BD-1,
which is the most available (but still scarce) variety of
this year, is the only variety with small reverse stars.
Some researchers have believed this to be an unfinished die,
but this is a fact that is almost always forgotten in
references. The large reverse stars, all somewhat scarcer
but together more available than the small reverse star
variety, would be used in the last few months the design was
struck. Why the Mint changed to large reverse stars is a
point of discussion among modern scholars, but it appears
that it was just a matter of either coincidence or a new
star punch for the reverse dies, introduced when John Reich
became assistant engraver at the Mint in early 1807.
The arrival of Reich would cause some major changes in
the production and designs of the American coinage. He
had arrived from Bavaria, Germany in 1800, a skilled
engraver who was recommended by Thomas Jefferson as
early as 1801, unable to secure a fulltime position at
the Mint at that time. When he was employed at the Mint
in 1807, new designs were introduced for every
denomination, and the old-tenor designs introduced in
the 18th century were abandoned. These changes would
also change the face of the largest denomination at the
time, the half eagle. Said to have introduced on
September 30, 1807, but maybe some months earlier, the
new type would be struck for five short years until it
was changed again. But by introducing it, it ended a
series of fascinating issues which have been loved by
numismatists and research ever since.
All 1807 half eagles are rare, and as previously
mentioned, extremely hard to find in original condition.
Many are cleaned, but others are dipped, a practice which
has become increasingly unpopular in recent times. While the
surfaces of coins are not damaged by dipping, the original
‘skin’ of a coin is removed. This originality has become
increasingly popular by collectors, but very, very few early
19th century pieces still come with any originality. The
grading surfaces do not pay much attention to dipping, and
thus a keen eye and intensive searching is required to find
an original 1807 half eagle in any grade. As for the grades,
gems are extremely rare, with only a single piece confirmed
to exist. In the lower uncirculated grades, this issue
remains rare, with most pieces grading About Uncirculated.
