Although photography was invented
in 1839, the art world at that time was still very
much in the grips of Neoclassicism. To the Neoclassical
sculptor or die engraver, modern clothing fashions
changed too often, and to portray historically important
figures in contemporary clothes could open up such
art works to criticism. Instead, they froze their
subjects in Classical Greek clothing and copied the
stylized busts of known works by ancient sculptors
and their later Roman imitators. Neoclassicism liked
cold profiles, and the exacting art of die engraving
is especially well suited to such a stylistic influence.
In the United States, Mint engraver
Christian Gobre-cht was strongly influenced by Neo-classicism,
which was especially apparent in his use of the classically
stylized head of Liberty on the Coronet half eagle
that replaced the Classic Head design in 1839. The
obverse design of the new coin featured Liberty's
hair tied in a bun and secured by a string of beads.
She also wore a coronet in her hair inscribed with
the word LIBERTY. The simplicity of the design was
largely unaffected by the addition of the date below
the bust and thirteen stars around the perimeter.
Such a Greco-Roman profile as seen on the Coronet
half eagle could be found in any major museum in Europe,
and this classically elegant yet simple design remained
on the obverse of the half eagle until 1908, when
the design was replaced by Bela Lyon Pratt's Indian
Head.
The reverse differed little from the
spread eagle motif that had been in use since 1807,
except that on the Gobrecht reverse the eagle's wingspan
was widened to cover the new coin from rim to rim.
Gobrecht's Coronet half eagles
continued the Mint's preoccupation with stereotyping
the designs on all U. S. coins. This drive for
uniformity existed from the Mint's early days
and did not vanish entirely until new, non-Mint
designs were implemented early in the 20th century.
The Coronet half eagle shared its design with
the eagle released in 1838 and the quarter eagle
of 1840. Referred to by modern collectors as
No Motto half eagles, they were struck in five
mints: Philadelphia (no mintmark), Charlotte
(C), Dahlonega (D), New Orleans (O), and San
Francisco (S). Mintmarks were placed on the
reverse below the eagle and above the word FIVE
in all but the initial year of issue. In 1839
the C and D mint-marks were placed above the
date on the obverse, making these otherwise
relatively common coins a very popular and eagerly
sought-after year for collectors. Altogether,
for the 28 years these coins were struck, a
total of 9,114,049 pieces were produced from
all five mints.
In the first several years of
production minor design changes were made-the
head of Liberty was modified slightly after
1839, the diameter was decreased in 1840 and
lettering and dates were enlarged in 1842 and
'43. For the date and mintmark collector these
minor design alterations provide variety, although,
primarily due to engraver James Longacre's ineptitude
as a die sinker, there are a considerable number
of mis-punched dates and overdates within the
series that also provide numismatic interest.
But the true rarities in this series are the
low mintage, low availability issues, especially
the branch mint issues from Dahlonega and Charlotte,
such as 1842-D Large Date, 1842-C Small Date
and 1861-C. There are no standout rarities among
the New Orleans issues except, of course, the
legendary 1841-O, a coin that is unknown in
any collection even though mint records indicate
50 pieces were struck-presumably all were melted
after coining.
The rarest regular production
No Motto half eagle comes from the San Francisco mint:
the 1854-S. Only 268 half eagles were struck in this
first year the San Francisco Mint was in operation,
and today only three pieces are known. The most commonly
encountered half eagles from this period are the ones
struck in Philadelphia, with AU and mint state coins
often available. The scarcest Philadelphia mint half
eagles are those struck during the Civil War, when
mintages were low and hoarding widespread.
Unlike many other
19th century series, No Motto half eagles are still
collected today by date and mintmark. However, most
collections contain only EF and AU coins at best;
in many cases higher grade examples are either not
available or are extremely expensive. Another popular
method of collecting this series is to specialize
in a particular mint. Several complete collections
of Charlotte and Dahlonega half eagles have been formed
over the years, this being especially popular with
collectors living in the South. However, far fewer
southern gold collectors have attempted to complete
a set of coins from New Orleans, even though EF and
AU pieces are more often available from this mint
than from Charlotte or Dahlonega. Type collectors
can approach the No Motto series by either attempting
to acquire one coin from each of the five mints that
issued them, or by obtaining one example (usually
from Philadelphia) to represent the entire 28-year
type. Proofs were struck only in the Philadelphia
mint, and all are very rare with yearly mintages after
1858 ranging from 25 to 80 pieces.
Grading well struck examples of No Motto fives is
a rather straightforward process: Look for rubbed
spots on the highest portions of the design elements-the
hair curls and above the eye of Liberty on the obverse
and on the eagle's wings on the reverse. However,
incompletely struck coins from this period are the
rule, not the exception, and one should expect softness
of strike on the
hair curls of Liberty as well as the eagle's left
(facing) leg on all branch mint coins and some of
the Philadelphia issues. Certain branch mint issues,
especially those from the mid-1850s, may show full
mint sharpness but dull surfaces. These "seawater
Uncs." were allegedly salvaged off a sunken Confederate
transport ship in the early 1970s. Counterfeits are
occasionally seen in the series but are generally
not a problem.
No Motto half eagles were minted until 1866, when
they were replaced by coins with the newly mandated
motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse. The date 1866
provides a useful dividing line for the half eagle
denomination. In general, coins struck after 1866
are easier to locate in AU and Uncirculated condition
than their No Motto counterparts, and the Southern
gold rarities from Charlotte and Dahlonega are limited
to the No Motto series. No Motto half eagles remained
in the channels of commerce for generations, and it
was not until the turn of the century and the advent
of mint-mark collecting that they began to be appreciated
as a series with many valuable rarities and few survivors
in high grade.
Click
here for the 1862
Proof Half Eagle for sale.
