1811 Half Eagle (1811 $5) Small 5 NGC AU55. This half eagle has bright yellow toning within the protected folds of Libertys cap and hair and darker toning on her neck and the obverse fields. The reverse has similar toning in the protected areas with somewhat darker toning on the shield and around the peripheral lettering. Some luster remains on both the obverse and reverse in the protected areas as well. There are a few scattered contact marks on the obverse field and Libertys jaw bone as well as a light clash mark on her neck. The reverse has some contact marks above and below the eagles head. While the coin is fully struck on both sides, there is very light wear on the high points, which is consistent with the grade.

When first used in 1807 on half dollars and half eagles, John Reichs design was criticized since Miss Liberty was perceived as the artists fat mistress. She faces left, which is different from the prior designs of 1795-1807. Perhaps the mood of the country changed from looking back to Europe to looking to the West for the future. One of Reichs innovations was to place the denomination on the reverse of the coin. Previous gold and silver coins, with the exception of the 1796-97 half dollars, lacked this information because they were thought of as bullion and were valued by their weight and precious metal content. Reich used 5 D. for the denomination because the lettering would have interfered with the olive branch leaves, and the design would have been much too crowded.