1799 Half Eagle - The final half eagle with a 17xx date, the 1799 Half Eagle ($5 gold piece) is a rare issue which comes with an unknown mintage. No exact mintage is known, and unlike other issues from this era estimates of the mintage range widely. Some sources, like the Red Book quote the number struck as 7,541 and that his also the number Breen mentioned in his Encyclopedia, although he also mentioned that more might have been struck.

Other sources enlarge the number struck by claiming that coins with this date were struck well into 1801 and perhaps even in early 1802. This does not seem unlikely at all, given the circumstances at the early Philadelphia Mint. One obverse die is also known to have paired on at least two different occasions with an obverse die which was also used for coinage of 1800 half eagles. Part of that variety was struck before the 1799 dated obverse die entered production once more. Because of this and the number of pieces known most modern sources have quoted the total number of pieces struck between 9,000 and 15,000, with the correct number probably somewhere in the middle. Of these, most sources mention an estimated 185 to 250 pieces that are known to exist for all varieties combined. Other sources mention numbers as high as 300 to 400, but that appears to be an extremely high estimate based on the number of auction appearances. In all grades, approximately 200 pieces could very well be the correct number for this date according to our research.

Nine different varieties are known for this date, ranging in rarity from R-5 (forty to fifty known) to R-7+ (six to eight known) in all grades. Four different obverse dies were used for coinage, combined with nine different reverse dies. One of the obverse dies, the variety now identified as BD-4, was mentioned in older literature to be a 1799/8 overdate. Modern research, however, has proved that it appears to be a minor repunched last nine, perhaps with a different punch. This remains a point of discussion when more people study this particular variety. The nine varieties can be divided into two separate groups, based on the size of the reverse stars above the head of the eagle. Seven varieties have small reverse stars, which is the more frequently encountered variety. Two more were struck with large reverse stars, which appear much less frequently. For some varieties it is difficult to place them in one of the two groups, and other characteristics are noted for identifying the reverse variety.

The reverse dies of the half eagles of 1795 to 1807 are believed to be engraved by two persons. The first was John Smith Gardner, who is known to have engraved the first reverse dies used for coinage. Later varieties are believed to have been the work of Chief Engraver Robert Scot, who is believed to have much more influence in the early United States Mint. His reverse style is believed to have been used from 1799 onwards. There are many differences between the two engravers, mostly apparent in the eagle’s neck and the arrangement of the stars. Other differences are found in the number of vertical lines in the shield and the presence or absence of a tongue in the beck of the eagle.

The arrangement of the reverse stars has been well-documented in modern literature on the subject. Gardner used a so-called cross pattern to arrange the stars, while Scot placed them in an arc pattern. When viewed side to side, the difference is obvious, but on individual varieties they are sometimes hard to identify as a given star arrangement. Scot’s arc pattern was used on the majority of known reverse dies from 1799 and onwards, while Gardner is believed to have only engraved three of the 1799 half eagle reverse dies. Except by specialists the difference are usually not noted. They do, however, give insight into the working process of the late 18th century Philadelphia Mint and should thus be considered valuable information for many researchers.

As for the quality of the pieces which appear at auction this coin is similar to other half eagles of this type and era. Uncirculated examples are rare, especially in grades MS-63 and higher. Many pieces are damaged, were mounted into jewelry or harshly graded over time, and finding a lightly circulated example with no problems appears to be difficult. The centers of most varieties are often weakly struck, although it is possible to find a sharply struck representative of this date with intensive searching.

U.S. Rare Coin Investments has bought and sold many early gold coins like these and are always interested in purchasing these coins. Please contact us if you are interested in buying or selling early gold coins or any other rare coin.