The Half Eagle was the
very first gold coin struck at the United States mint. Starting
in 1795, the Half Eagle became the only U.S gold coin struck
in each of the 8 U.S mints may or varieties exist in the early
series with several appearing for sale very infrequently, sometimes
not being seen for years.
The Small Eagle design
Half Eagle by Scot, was one of the first acts that the then
new mint director Henry William DeSaussure had proclaimed (one
of 2, first to place gold coins in circulation, and second to
improve an coin designs in general). The series ran for only
a short terms 1795 thru 1798 with 1798 being a major variety
commanding multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars in better
status of preservation.
A serious prize for specialists
as well as investors of items of great historical importance,
these Early Half Eagles have captured the imagination of collectors
since they were first made.
They are all scarce
to extremely rare and a symbol of the beginning of the United
States via its coinage and coined art.
1797
Half Eagle, 15 Stars
The 1797 Half Eagle, Small Eagle is found with either 15
or 16 obverse stars, representing the number of states in
the Union at the time. (Since Tennessee was admitted as the
16th state on July 1, 1796, the die with 15 obverse stars
is clearly a holdover from the previous year.) Both subtypes
are very rare, and the 15-stars version is the more elusive
of the two. Mint State examples are extremely rare, led by
a single NGC MS-60 coin. The price record for this variety
was set in August 2003, when a PCGS AU-55 piece sold for $100,625.
1797
Half Eagle, 16 Stars
Although The 1797 Half Eagle, 16 stars not quite as rare
as the 1797 Half Eagle, 15-star variety, this 16-star variety
can be quite difficult to locate. On average, it appears at
auction less than once a year and sometimes the reappearance
of the same coin makes the variety seem less rare than it
actually is. For example, the price record for this date was
set by the Bass coin, which started out as a PCGS AU-55 piece
in 1999, was elevated to an NGC MS-60, and was then sold twice
in 2004 (for $129,500 and $146,500, respectively). The finest
example is an NGC MS-61 coin, which, as of yet, has not appeared
at auction. Note: this coin is included among the 100 Greatest
U.S. Coins (Garrett and Guth 2005).
We at U.S. Rare Coin
Investments highly recommend these Early Half Eagle coins
for investments portfolios. Whether a single coin or the long
term acquisition of them with the goal of building a set in
terms of historical importances as well as longterm profit
potential, cannot be overstated in our opinion.
