SCOT'S FLOWING HAIR HALF DOLLARS DESIGN

As the Chief Coiner, Henry Voigt, and the Assayer, Albion Cox, could not post the $10,000 surety bonds required for taking office (or rather for handling gold and silver bullion), only copper coins were made during 1793. On Dec. 10, 1793, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Pres. Washington recommending that bonds be reduced to a figure these officers could manage. Washington persuaded Congress to comply (Act of March 3, 1794), and at once local banks began depositing silver. Before this could be coined, the new Mint Engraver, Robert Scot, had to complete device punches and working dies. With Adam Eckfeldt's help, Scot produced an oversimplified copy of the cent head for the half dollars, and a stylized eagle punch for their revs. Individual numeral, letter, star, and leaf punches (with some hand finishing) served to complete the designs.

On Oct. 15, 1794, Voigt delivered 5,300 half dollars, followed by 18,164 more on Feb. 4, 1795, from 1794-dated dies: five pairs in 10 combinations, one of them a new discovery (4551), only one (ill. at 4552) not rare. Survivors are mostly well worn; collectors were very few, and the general public remained slow to squirrel away choice ones.

During the remainder of spring and summer 1795, half-dollar coinage continued from 1795-dated dies [299,680], from 19 obv. and 22 or 23 rev. dies, the first rev. left over from 1794. Several slightly differing head- and eagle-device punches were used during the year, the final ones attributed to John Smith Gardner, briefly Assistant Engraver: the famous and rare Small Heads. These are associated with four Heavy Wreath revs, showing a small dot in lower field between ribbons; this is thought to be Gardner's "signature," to tell his dies from Scot's. The Double Date and Three Leaves coins belong with this group, evidently at the end of the mintage, summer 1795.

Coinage was interrupted to allow personnel to devote time to making silver dollars and gold coins, on orders of the new Mint Director, Henry William DeSaussure.
The vars. in this series (without or with die blunders) are nearly as individualized and distinctive as their cherished counterparts in the cents, but they have long remained neglected owing to lack of a reference work in a class with Sheldon {1958} on cents. Even Overton {1970} is unsatisfactory: It lacks ills, of three obv. and five rev. dies, lacks a rational descriptive system, lacks an emission sequence, and (perhaps worst) its illustrations obscure many distinctive features. Research is continuing on this series, and we may eventually expect a definitive text from the Bust Half Nut Club (BHNC), which has already published a supplement illustrating new discoveries.

What look like file marks on many specimens, even in mint state, are adjustment marks. Adjusters (including the first women hired by the Mint) wore leather aprons and sat with metal files. As the Weighers checked each newly cut blank, the lightweight ones were returned to the Melter and Refiner, those within legal tolerances went to the Chief Coiner, and heavier ones went to the Adjusters, who gave them a stroke or two (more if necessary after reweighing), to reduce weights to legal limits. Periodically, the contents of their leather aprons went to the Melter and Refiner. Adjustment marks, accordingly, are not counted as impairments, as they preceded stamping designs into the planchets. Note ills, of 4550, 4556.
Irregularities at rims (as on ills, of 4553, 4556) are from the machine used for lettering edges; these also are not counted as impairments, but they must be carefully distinguished from rim dents.

SCOT'S FLOWING HAIR DESIGN

Designer, Robert Scot. Engravers, Scot and John Smith Gardner. Mint, Philadelphia. Diameter, approx. 20.5/16" = 32.5 mm. Edge, FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR (varying ornamentation between words: circles, rectangles, stars). Weight standard, 208 grs. — 13.48 gms. Composition, 892.43+ Fine silver, 107.56+ Fine copper (1,485/1,664). Authorizing Act, April 2, 1792.
Grade range, POOR to UNC. GOOD: Date and all letters legible; devices outlined. VERY GOOD: Few hair and feather details. FINE: Details at ends of curls distinguishable; some hair details clear behind ribbon; partial feather and leaf details. VERY FINE: Some detail in central hair; demarcation between hair and neck and cheek (but not temple) visible; most wing feathers intact, breast feathers partly flat. EXTREMELY FINE: Almost all hair details; isolated tiny rubbed spots only.