1806/5 Half Dollar - 1806/5 50C O-103. R2, NGC AU55. This beautifully toned, Choice AU overdate 1806/5 Draped Bust Half Dollar is the second finest known for this variety at NGC and the finest known at PCGS. The coin has centers that are gold and tan with fields that are gun-metal gray and blue. The coin is glossy with original mint luster within the devices. This combination of colors and luster affirms the coins originality. The surfaces are clean for the grade with no notable abrasion marks or other distractions. The strike is above average with full details on most of Libertys hair and drapery as well as the clouds on the left side.

The coin is identified as O-103. The obverse shows large stars. Star 12 is recut and has a broken point near the highest point of Star 13. The date is 9 millimeters with the 0 and 6 very close. The bottom of the 0 is recut. The top of a 5 is visible near the top of the 6. There is a die crack from the rim, through Star 1 to the curls. The reverse has narrow milling. The point of Star 12 is attached to the eagles beak. There are 5 berries, but only the lower two below the branch have stems. The point of a leaf seems to touch the lower right base of the I in AMERICA. The right base of the F in OF is missing. There is a small die lump under the right side of the R in AMERICA.

The Draped Bust Large Eagle or Heraldic Eagle Reverse, designed by Robert Scot, was made from 1801 to 1807. The design shows a draped bust of Liberty in profile facing right. Above is the word LIBERTY, and below is the date. Seven six-pointed stars are to the left and six are to the right. The portrait, taken from a drawing by the famous artist Gilbert Stuart, is of Ann Bingham. John Eckstein translated this drawing to models for Engraver Scot. Evidently Eckstein made the models poorly, which might explain why Stuarts family refused to acknowledge his role in the coinage design. The large eagle or heraldic eagle reverse shows the eagle with up stretched wings and a Union shield on its breast. A banner inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM curls across the left wing and under the right. Except for the wing tips, the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc near the periphery. Thirteen stars are above the eagles head under the clouds. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin. The edge is lettered FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR with ornamentation between the words.

In what some believe to have been a colossal design blunder, Robert Scot placed the arrows in the wrong talon. On the left side, the eagles right talon, arrows symbolize aggressive militarism. They should have been placed in the left talon with the olive branch in the right. If this was a deliberate rearrangement, it shows a young country making a statement about its sovereignty in a time of war. If it was unintentional, it shows a new, inexperienced country that cant even get its symbolism correct.

Scot was born in 1744. It is uncertain if he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland or in England. He was trained as a watchmaker in England and learned engraving afterwards. He moved to the United States in 1777, where he worked as an engraver of plates, bills of exchange, and office scales. During the Revolution, he was an engraver of paper money. In 1781 he moved to Philadelphia. He was appointed Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793 by David Rittenhouse, Mint Director. His salary in 1795 was $1,200 per year. The Mint Director received only $800 dollars per year more. Scots ability to make dies was limited, and in his advanced years he had failing eyesight. His work was somewhat less than that done in Europe at the time, and Scot was criticized for its poor quality. Despite these limitations, he was responsible for designs of most of Americas first coins. These include the Flowing Hair and the Draped Bust motifs used on early silver coins and the Capped Bust gold coins. Scot also designed the 1794-1797 half-cent, the 1800-1808 draped bust half-cent, and the Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace Medal.

In its population report, NGC shows 1 1806/5, O-103 in AU55, the present coin, with only 2 better. At PCGS the finest known for this variety are two in AU53.