1809/8 Half Eagle - 1809/8 $5 NGC MS61. This very eye-appealing Uncirculated, popular overdate 1809/8 Half Eagle is well struck with full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. Original mint luster glows within protected areas of both sides of the coin. The surfaces are yellow gold with a slight greenish tint. These colors affirm the coins originality. The surfaces are clean for the grade with no notable abrasions or other distractions. 

Within six months of his assignment as Assistant Engraver, John Reich designed the new half eagle. They were immediately criticized because Liberty was seen as the artists fat mistress. The obverse includes the artists signature, the notch on star 13. Many of these pieces were saved because they were the first of a new design and distinctly different from the European and Latin American coins that circulated during this time. However, in 1834 the weight standard for gold was lowered, and many half eagles went into melting pots.

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. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with its wings raised. It is more defiant than its predecessor with its mouth opened and its neck aggressively curved. 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.  Dentils are seen at the periphery of both sides of the coin.

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. Arrows in the right claw symbolize extreme militarism, perhaps placed there because of the recent hostilities with France over shipping rights. The symbolism was being used to make a statement to France and others about the sovereignty 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.

John Reich, a skilled engraver, was born in Bavaria and came to the United States around 1800. In order to finance his passage, he sold himself into servitude. President Thomas Jefferson recommended that Reich be hired as an engraver at the Mint in 1801. When he was serving in Washingtons Cabinet, Jefferson was in charge of the Mint as Secretary of State. While in France, Jefferson developed a working knowledge of the minting process. Reich was hired for other duties, but he eventually became an engraver. He had a superb eye for the complicated aesthetics of coin engraving. At this time his freedom was purchased by an unknown mint official. Although Chief Engraver Robert Scot designed most of the coins at the mint since 1794, it was said that Reich had much more talent and ability than Scot.

In 1807, Reich was promoted to the position of Assistant or Second Engraver by Robert Patterson, the new Mint Director. Jefferson had urged Patterson to make this promotion because Scots eyesight was failing him. The promotion was timely because Reich was considering returning to Europe out of boredom with the menial tasks he had been assigned. Immediately Patterson assigned Reich the task of redesigning the nations coinage. He began with the half eagle and the half dollar, the two most important coins for commerce.

The 1809 Half Eagle has the lowest mintage of its type and is the scarcest date of the series. Every example from this year is an overdate. In its population report, NGC shows 24 1809/8 Half Eagles certified at the MS61 grade level.