Early Half Dollars (1794-1839)

Unlike dimes and quarters, half dollars have attracted a large and loyal following of numismatists, almost from the cradle days of the hobby. This is due no doubt to the fact that early 19th century issues were minted in very large quantities, second only to one-cent pieces in terms of production, and are thus readily available for reasonable prices. Nothing stimulates interest in a series more than to have an inexpensive and easy entry. This is precisely why Morgan silver dollars, once collected by very few, have been high on the popularity list ever since the Treasury Department released untold millions of them in 1962-1964.

Back to the subject of half dollars: The denomination was first minted for circulation in 1794. In this and the following year the Flowing Hair motif was used, the same design employed on half dimes and dollars of the same dates. The denomination appeared nowhere on the obverse or reverse but was relegated to the edge, which was lettered 50 CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR. Today the 1794 half dollar is multiples rarer than the 1795, as might be expected from the relative mintage figures: 23,464 pieces produced dated 1794 and 299,680 with the 1795 date. As noted earlier, such figures must be taken with a grain of salt. Although the numbers seem precise enough, in reality it may have been the case that certain pieces included in the 1795 number were made from leftover 1794 dies.

One of the most famous of all American coin design types is the 1796-1797 Draped Bust half dollar design with Small Eagle reverse. Just 3,918 were minted for these two years, divided into three distinct varieties: 1796 with 15 stars on the obverse, 1796 with 16 stars, and 1797 (all 1797 pieces have 15 stars). Why the variation in the star counts? This has never been satisfactorily explained, although a likely suggestion is that during this time additional states were being added to the Union, giving a reason to increase the star count from the normal 13. However, in practice those individuals making dies at the Mint seemed to have added stars or to fill out the design in an aesthetic manner, without regard as to how many states were or were not in the Union, although the star count never fell below 13 nor did it exceed 16.

Of the 3,918 half dollars minted of the 1796-7 design type, probably fewer than 300 or 400 survive today. In higher grades, these pieces are extreme rarities, although 1796 occurs in AU and Uncirculated preservation more frequently than 1797. When I catalogued the Norweb Collection for sale at auction in 1987 and 1988 I was delighted to encounter a superb gem Uncirculated 1797 - a coin which I had never seen in this grade level. It is now owned by a private client on the West Coast, a connoisseur who appreciates it as much as I did when I catalogued it.