1808/7 $5 (1808/7 Half Eagle) PCGS AU50. BD-1, R-6. Some mint luster remains within the devices of this rare overdate 1808/7 Half Eagle. Light wear on the highest points and abrasion marks are seen, in keeping with the grade. The strike is above average on the obverse, which shows slight central weakness, and strong on the reverse. Die cracks are seen from star 7 to Libertys cap and from the band on the cap to the rim. These cracks do not detract from the grade or the coins value. The smudge marks on the reverse are on the holder not the coin. John Reich designed the Capped Bust half eagle.

The obverse shows Liberty in profile facing left wearing a LIBERTY inscribed cap that was intended to represent a Phrygian cap. It has seven stars to the left of Liberty and six to the right with the date below. Dentils are around the periphery on both sides of the coin. The reverse shows a defiant eagle with its opened mouth and an aggressively curved neck. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc around the eagle, interrupted by the wing tips. On a banner over the eagles head between its wings is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The denomination written as 5 D is below.

Reich corrected the error made by Robert Scot in the design of the previous half eagle (as well as his other heraldic eagle motifs). Scot had placed the arrows in the eagles right or dexter claw and put the olive branch in the left or sinister claw. This reversal of the positions of these two items is an inaccurate modification of the Great Seal of the United States. On the Capped Bust Half Eagle, the olive branch is in the right claw and the arrows are in the left.

In 1825 Mint Director Samuel Moore wrote to Thomas Jefferson asking him about the proper emblem of Liberty for our coins. Jefferson replied that the Phrygian cap was not appropriate to be worn on the head of a goddess on United States coinage since we were never slaves. Nonetheless, the cap remained until the Capped Bust Half Eagle was replaced by the Classic Heads of 1834.

While the grading services do not differentiate the varieties of 1808/7, the present coin is the BD-1, with an R6, meaning that 17 to 32 pieces are known.