1795 Half Eagle Large Eagle|Information about 1795 Half Eagle

1795 Half Eagle - The five dollar gold piece dated 1795 with the heraldic eagle (large eagle) reverse is a curious and enigmatic issue. The new reverse design was not introduced in mid 1797, so these coins were already backdated two full years before they were struck. The reason for their existence is a story of economical reasons, yellow fever and carelessness from Mint employees. Three different varieties are known of this issue, with the following rarity ratings as listed by Bass-Dannreuther in their reference on early American gold coinage:

The exact mintage of this 1795 half eagle variety is unknown. Some sources say that the total mintage was as low as 500 pieces, but based on the quantity of pieces known a number closer to 1,500 might be more correct. Even with the latter number correct this remains an extremely low mintage, and it is not surprising that this is a rare issue which is not offered at the public market with any regularity. Despite the numbers listed above some sources quote the number of pieces known as low as 35, or as high as 50. This will also remain to be a point of discussion which will continue when more pieces are discovered and brought to light in the numismatic community.

Used for coinage of this 1795 half eagle issue were three different obverses and two different reverses. All of the obverses had previously been used to strike small eagle varieties, which had been first struck in 1795. All uses of these dies for striking heraldic eagle reverse coins appear to have occurred after all small eagle coins had been struck. However, it would not come as a complete surprise when a heraldic eagle coin is found with the obverse in an earlier die state then on the small eagle variety with the same obverse. All obverses show obvious die rust in the fields, indicating that they had been in storage for sometime, and not carefully stored as would be necessary to keep the dies in good condition. This could be because the dies were no longer meant for coinage, but with the high costs of coinage dies this seems unlikely. The true cause appears to be the yellow fever epidemic of 1797.

The annual outbreak of yellow lever in Philadelphia in 1797 was bad, but not as severe as it had been in 1793. Yet, it was more than enough to close down operations at the Mint, halting coinage operations. Yellow fever was a large problem in 18th century life, and outbreaks were common in cities like Philadelphia. It is a viral infection which is borne by mosquitos. It causes jaundice, which is clearly visible as the person infected will turn yellow because of liver injury (hence the name). While it can still not be cured by medication, some people survive. Yet, in the late 1700s this number was extremely small, and with the vaccine not discovered until 1937 the disease was extremely dangerous. In an 1855 book about the history of the disease up to that point in Philadelphia the following has been written about the outbreak of that year:

“1797.—Very different was the extent of the prevalence of yellow fever in the year succeeding to that last mentioned. On this occasion, it once more assumed the character of an epidemic, less extensive and fatal, doubtless, than that of 1793 and some that followed, but of sufficient severity to merit a somewhat detailed notice.”

After the yellow fever epidemic there was a need for production of gold coinage at the Mint. The dies that were put in storage following the outbreak of the fever re-entered storage, and it appears that during this time in late 1797 or early 1798 this rarity was created. Because of the haste in production quality control was not as strict as usually, neither was the striking quality. As such, many pieces show weakly struck centers, even when in uncirculated condition. These Mint State pieces are more available than similar issues of the same era, even in MS-63 and MS-64 condition. Yet, it remains a rare coin in any grade, and even in circulated condition this is a true trophy coin to hold. One with a special story to tell, that’s for sure.