1811 Half Eagle (1811 $5) Tall 5, NGC MS61. This premium quality half eagle has bright yellow-gold color on both obverse and reverse. The coin shows bright luster on Liberty’s hair, the folds of her cap, and the left field near the stars and rim. Similarly, the reverse shows its luster on the eagle’s head, wings, claws, and most of the lettering. There are some very obvious clash marks between the date and the truncation of the bust. These marks result from the dies making contact with each other prior to this coin’s striking.

Evidently the mint workers either missed the clash marks or were in too much of a hurry to remove them by carefully polishing the die. The clash marks add interest and value to the coin. Since all gold coin errors are rare, the rotated reverse also adds interest and value to the coin. The coin is fully struck on both sides and shows every detail of each device. The 1811 half eagle had a reported mintage of 99,851; however, more than half of the mintage was struck with the 1810 date. In addition, since the “Tall 5” variety is very scarce in all grades, this coin is particularly valuable.

John Reich, the coin’s designer, was innovative in that he placed the denomination on a gold coin. The prior gold pieces were valued by their weight and fineness as was the case with the European coins that circulated and were accepted in the United States.

Reich was criticized for his portrait of Liberty. Some felt that he was portraying his “fat mistress.” In 1825 Mint Director Samuel Moore asked Thomas Jefferson if the cap was a suitable emblem. Jefferson responded that a liberty cap should not be worn by a goddess who herself represents liberty, after all we were never slaves. However, the device continued to be used on gold coinage until 1834.