1811 $5 (1811 Half Eagle) NGC AU55, BD-2, Small 5. Early Half Eagle. This Capped Bust to Left 1811 Half Eagle is sharply struck with full details seen on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagle, and the shield. Sufficient separation is seen in the lines of Libertys hair and the cap above LIBERTY to warrant the grade. For the grade, the surfaces are clean, original, and free of distractions. The scuff mark at the top of the obverse is on the holder not the coin. Bright mint luster shimmers throughout the devices of this well made piece.

John Reich designed the Capped Bust half eagle of 1807 to 1834. It is stylistically related to the Capped Bust half dollar he also created. The obverse shows Liberty in profile facing left wearing a LIBERTY inscribed cap that was intended to represent a Phrygian cap. Seven stars are to her left and six are to the right with the date below the truncation. The reverse shows the heraldic eagle with wings raised up. Between them, on a banner, is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The required inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the coin, interrupted by the wing tips, and 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. Arrows in the right claw symbolize extreme militarism, which is hardly a message a young nation should place on its coinage, unless one considers that the United States and France were engaged in an undeclared naval war regarding shipping rights, and perhaps the reversal was meant to be a warning to France and other nations with regard to the United States sovereignty. With the issuance of the new design, the Capped Bust Half Eagle, the olive branch is in the right claw and the arrows are in the left.

Johann Reich, a skilled engraver, was born it 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. While serving in Washingtons Cabinet, Jefferson had been in charge of the Mint as Secretary of State. While in France, Jefferson developed good judgment and a working knowledge of the minting process. Reich was hired for other duties, but he eventually became an engraver at the Mint. 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. Within six months of his assignment as Assistant Engraver, John Reich designed the new half eagle. The new coins 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 design for the Capped Bust half dollar uses a buxom Liberty wearing a LIBERTY inscribed cloth cap, which gave the coin a distinctly European look. The heraldic eagle reverse symbolizes the Union with the arrows and olive branch in its talons. The design for the gold coin was similar but modified slightly to accommodate its smaller size. In 1807 both coins were released.

Reich put the denomination on the gold and silver coins. This innovation had not been done previously because coins, especially in Europe, were valued for their metallic content and weight. By 1815 Reich had created a set of circulating coins with the common capped liberty obverse. In 1813 Reich modified the half eagle to become what is called the Capped Head design. After working for ten years as Assistant Engraver at the mint, Reich resigned in 1817. He had received no pay raise or promotion and little praise from Robert Scot. Scot remained the Chief Engraver until his death in 1823.

There are two varieties for the 1811 half eagle, the Tall 5 and the Small 5. The present coin is the Small 5, BD-2, with a R3 rarity rating meaning that 225 to 300 pieces are known. In its population report, NGC shows 1 Small 5 in AU55 with 16 better.