Half Eagles
1815 $5 HALF EAGLE GOLD
Written/Compiled by Dennis
Hengeveld
One of the rarest and lowest mintage gold coins
ever made in the United States, the 1815 half eagle has been
an extremely popular issue since the mid 19th century. The
total mintage was just a mere 635 pieces and of these only
eleven to fourteen pieces are known to exist. Most of these
remain in remarkably good condition for an early gold coin,
as the majority is graded About Uncirculated and finer, and
most are not cleaned or damaged as many other examples of
this type are. This is a further indication that the rarity
of this issue was soon understood, and that collectors tried
desperately to acquire these coins within half a century of
its mintage. While many coins, in fact nearly all of this
type were melted in the decades after their minting, a
relative large number of the mintage is still known to
exist.
All pieces were struck from a single die pair, and are
believed to have been delivered in a single batch on
November 3, 1815. The bullion that was used for the coinage
of this issue came from three depositors, a small number
even for the time. The obverse die was newly created, with a
widely spaced date. The reverse was first used in 1813, and
had struck coins dated 1814 as well. By the time it was used
in 1815 it had clashed on multiple occasions, and was
lapped. Bass-Dannreuther, in the Early U.S. Gold Coin
Variety book note that the die states seen in 1814 might
exist, but that all known pieces feature a lapped reverse
die to make sure it was fit for coinage.
Massive melting of American gold coins took
place
both in the United States as well as in Europe. Breen
notes
that approximately 40,000 new gold coins of the Capped
Bust
type were melted in Paris in 1831. These no doubt
included
pieces that were dated 1815, but because of the small
mintage it seems logical that the number included was
extremely small. Perhaps the depositors of the gold who
requested these coins released all coins in circulation,
where they were needed after the War of 1812. The few
uncirculated pieces perhaps were never paid out to the
public, gathered dust for a few decades, and when it was
realized that they might be potentially valuable were
never
paid out. As five dollars was a large amount to own in
the
early 19th century other pieces perhaps only circulated
shortly, after which they were saved by banks until it
was
once again realized that the mintage had been small and
that
the pieces potentially were worth more than its face
value.
Although most rosters of known coins list a total of
twelve pieces known, one of these has only been rumored
because of a photograph in an auction catalog which
appears different. Five more are permanently impounded
in museums, with one of these rumored as well. This is
the so-called Swedish Mint example, which was first
mentioned in a 1870s letter when Joseph Mickley
mentioned the piece in an interview after seeing it on a
trip to Europe. It is unknown if this coin remains in
Stockholm, or if it has been moved to another location
sometime during the last 130 years. Two specimens are in
the Smithsonian, both in lower uncirculated grades.
Another is in the Connecticut State Library, and one of
the finest known remains in the core collection of the
Harry W. Bass Jr Research Foundation. Harry Bass owned a
second example, graded PCGS AU-58 which sold during the
sale of part of his collection in October 1999. As a
result, only six pieces are available to collectors at
most. The finest of these is in gem condition, or MS-65.
Another MS-64 piece is known as well as one lower graded
uncirculated piece. The remaining pieces are in About
Uncirculated condition, with one previously graded as
being Extremely Fine. In all, this is an extremely rare
coin which always attracts a lot of attention when
offered at public auction, which it seldom does.
