Reich’s
Capped Head Proof Half Eagles 1813-1834: John Reich
designed the half eagles of 1813 to 1834. They are known as
the Capped Heads. Only the 1813 to 1815 were designed by John
Reich. Although the 1818 to 1829 were done by Robert Scott,
he copied Reich’s earlier design.
The obverse shows Liberty facing left wearing
a cap inscribed LIBERTY. She is surrounded by thirteen stars
with the date below. Scott’s copies were not nearly
as artistic as Reich’s. Liberty’s features are
coarse and thick. His eagle is more defiant with its opened
mouth and aggressively curved neck. The heraldic eagle is
surrounded by the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Below is the denomination, 5 D. E PLURIBUS UNUM is on a
banner over the eagle’s head between its wings. Dentils
border both sides of the coin.
No proof mintage for this series is listed
in the Red Book, A Guide Book of United States Coins. Obviously
any that are seen are prohibitively rare. The population
reports of both grading services list 6 proof coins in all
conditions for all dates of this design type. NGC has 1
for 1830 and 3 for 1833, and PGCS has 1 for 1832 and 1 for
1833.
Kneass’ Classic
Head Proof Half Eagles 1834-1838 : William Kneass
designed the half eagles of 1834 to 1838. They are known
as the Classic Heads. Kneass adapted an earlier design for
the five dollar gold piece. He used John Reich’s cent
“Classic Head” motif of 1808-14. For the reverse
he adopted Reich’s half eagle design of 1807. However,
he omitted the banner with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. In
order to prevent continued melting for bullion purposes,
the weight and fineness of the coin were reduced. As a result
most of the original gold coins that were minted prior to
1834 were turn in to the mint, much of it to be used to
make the new half eagles.
The design shows Liberty
facing left with her hair in a headband inscribed with LIBERTY.
Curls flow down the back and most of the side of her neck.
She is surrounded by thirteen stars. The date is below.
Near the edge of the coin on both sides are dentils. The
reverse shows the heraldic eagle facing left with wings
outstretched and mouth opened. Between the olive branch
leaves and the wing is UNITED. Above the eagle’s head
are STATES OF followed by AMERICA after the wing tip down
to the arrows. The denomination is written as 5D. as it
was on the previous issue.
Classic Head proof half
eagles are so elusive that none are list in the “Red
Book,” A Guide Book of United States Coins. The NGC
population report lists 11 and PGCS lists 4. For
1834 8 are listed by both services, 1835 2 are listed, 4
are listed, none for 1837, and 1 for 1838.
Gobrecht’s
Proof Half Eagle 1839-1908: 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 Gobrecht’s
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 design’s 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 2’s
certified in all grades.
While the Type 1’s
are extremely rare, the Type 2’s 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.
An example of a Type 1 proof
is the 1862 issue. On this coin the date is low and placed
the right nearer the thirteenth star than the first. The
date is small but heavily punched. There were 35 proof coins
minted for this date. In their population reports, both
major grading services combined have 13 for this date.
An example of a Type 2 proof
is the 1885 issue. On this coin the date is placed to the
left. The peak of 1 is nearer the point of the bust than
the 5 is to the right end of the truncation. The 5 is closed.
There were 66 proof coins minted for this date. In their
population reports, both major grading services combined
have 40 for this date.
Another example of a Type
2 proof is the 1887 issue, which is the key to the series.
The date on this coin slants up to the right. The left base
of 1 is close to the edge of the coin, and the base of the
7 is further away, while the top of the 7 is very close
to the truncation. Authentication is required for this issue
because forgeries were made by polishing the fields and
removing the S on the 1887-S coin, which is a common date.
For this date there was no regular Philadelphia mintage
and only 87 proof coins were struck. In their population
reports, both major grading services combined have 25 for
this issue.
Another example of a Type
2 proof is the 1904 issue. On this coin the date slants
up slightly to the right. A small spine is found down from
the toe of the L in LIBERTY. On the reverse, the outer leaf
in the upper group is short and the upper outer berry looks
like a claw. There is a hollow in the wing below the I in
IN. There were 136 proof coins minted for this date. In
their population reports, both major grading services combined
have 122 proofs for this date.
Pratt’s Proof
Half Eagle 1908-1929: Early in 1908, Dr. William
Bigelow, a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, convinced
the president that the quarter and half eagles should be
made with the relief reversed. He felt that if the devices
were below the field, they would be protected. Roosevelt
agreed so Bigelow then persuaded Bela Lyon Pratt, the Boston
sculptor and student of the late Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
to submit designs for the new coinage.
For the obverse, Pratt chose
the head of a Native American. Choosing this figure is in
keeping with the Mint Act of 1792, which calls for a design
“emblematic of Liberty.” Native Americans were,
after all, free people until the white men came and disrupted
their way of life. Pratt’s model was not named and
his tribe is unknown. However, unlike many other so called
“Indian Heads,” which were Caucasian female
figures of Liberty wearing Indian headdress, this one is
clearly portrays a Native American. On the coin his profile
looks left. Above his head is the word LIBERTY and below
is the date. At the left rim, starting at the truncation
is an arc of six stars. Seven are on the right side of the
coin.
The reverse is reminiscent
of Saint-Gaudens’ eagle. A majestic standing eagle
looks left. Below it are arrows and an olive branch. Above
in an arc near the edge are the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
separated by round dots. The denomination, FIVE DOLLARS,
with dot between, is below. IN GOD WE TRUST is behind the
eagle and E PLURIBUS UNUM is in front of it.
As soon as they were issued,
objections were made to the new design. It was said that
the incused features would retain dirt and the coins would
be unsanitary. They were also too easily counterfeited and
couldn’t be stacked, and the design was not natural.
Despite these objections, the coin remained in use until
1929.
The half eagle proof coins
of 1908-15 are considerably more rare than are the Gobrecht
half eagles of the previous decade. For the Mint, this was
a time of experimentation. Not only was this the first United
States coin to have an incused design, the Mint also experimented
with proof finishes. Three different ones are used on these
proofs – matte, sand blast, and satin or “Roman
Finish.” Many business strikes are seen with simulated
surfaces; although, these lack the sharpness of a true proof
coin. Based on existing populations, it is clear that much
of the proof coinage was not saved and those that were are
rare. It is also likely that many were turned in 1934 during
the Great Recall.
The total business strike
mintage for this design is 14,078,066, and the proof mintage
is only 1,077. NGC reports 344 proofs in all grades and
PCGS shows 218.
In 1908 the proof mintage
was 167. Most have a dark matte finish with the color between
khaki and olive. One “Roman Finish” has been
reported. In its population reports NGC shows 88 for this
issue and PGCS has 58.
In 1909 the proof mintage
was 78. These were a pale lemon color with a satiny, semi-brilliant
finish. Two dark matte proofs have been reported. In its
population reports NGC shows 37 for this issue and PGCS
has 22
The 1910 mintage was 250,
the largest number for this proof half eagle. These have
a satiny or “Roman Finish.” In its populationreports
NGC shows 46 for this issue and PGCS has 26.
In 1911, the mintage was
139. These proofs have a dark, mustard colored matte sandblast
finish. In its population reports NGC shows 55 for this
issue and PGCS has 30.
In 1912, the proof mintage
was 144. These have a fine sandblast finish. In its population
reports NGC shows 35 for this issue and PGCS has 28.
In 1913, there were 99 proof
minted. They have a fine sandblast finish. In its population
reports NGC shows 28 for this issue and PGCS has 19.
In 1914, there were 125
minted. These proofs have a coarse sandblast finish. In
its population reports NGC shows 34 for this issue and PGCS
has 20.
The 75 1915 proofs were
the last minted for this type. These have a coarse sandblast
finish. In its population reports NGC shows 21 forthis issue
and PGCS has 15.
