Proof 1903 Half Eagle - 1903 $5 PCGS PR63. Tied for fourth finest at PCGS, this Proof 1903 Half Eagle is rare and desirable. This one was struck in the no-contrast style used by the Mint in the early 20th century. Both the devices and the fields are dazzling. A small lint mark is noted below and to the left of the 1 in the date. Otherwise the fields are original and clean. As expected, the strike is excellent with full details on Libertys hair, the centers of the stars, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield.

Because Engraver William Kneass, suffering from a stroke, was unable to work, Mint Director Robert Patterson asked Assistant Engraver Christian Gobrecht to design a new half eagle that was uniform with the eagle of 1838. He used the coronet motif obverse and the heraldic eagle reverse.

Christian Gobrechts Coronet Heads, No Motto were minted from 1839 to 1866. There were two types of the design, the first with the mint mark on the obverse above the date and the second with the mint mark above the denomination on the reverse. Gobrecht modified the previous designs denomination, 5D. He replaced the numeral with the word FIVE. The design shows Liberty facing left, surrounded by thirteen stars, her hair tied with beads in a bun, wearing a coronet on which is inscribed LIBERTY. She also has two long loose curls, one on the back of her neck and one from behind her ear. The reverse is the heraldic eagle design, which shows the eagle facing left with wings outstretched, holding olive branch and arrows in the correct claws with a union shield attached to its chest. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse with the denomination at the bottom. Dots precede and follow the denomination separating it from the legend.

The coinage act of 1865 specified that motto IN GOD WE TRUST should be added to all coins large enough to accommodate it. The Mint interpreted this law to mean that the motto had to be added to silver coins larger than the dime and gold half eagles, eagles and double eagles. James Longacre, who was now the Engraver, added the motto scroll to the reverse under STATES OF, creating Type 2 of this design.

All Coronet Head half eagle proofs are rare. It is estimated that the Type 1 design had a mintage of approximately 450 while Type 2 had 2,938 struck. In their population reports, both major grading services combined have 121 Type 1 proofs and 1703 Type 2s certified in all grades.
While the Type 1s are extremely rare, the Type 2s are rarer than their number struck might suggest. Many are impaired. Pieces dated from 1880 to 1886 were mishandled at the mint and are often found scratched or nicked. Later many were spent during depression years.

The 1903 proof half eagle had a mintage of 154, which makes it fundamentally rare in all conditions. It is estimated that about 60 pieces survive today. In its population report PCGS shows 10 in PR63 condition.