In general, half eagle designs follow those of contemporary quarter eagles. There are, however, numerous differences, one of them being the first half eagle design, with Capped Bust to Right obverse and Small Eagle reverse, which has no equivalent in the quarter eagle series, but which is similar to that used on the contemporary $10 piece. $5 pieces of the Small Eagle reverse type were minted through 1798. Those dated 1798 are extreme rarities, and fewer than a dozen are known to exist.
Capped Bust to Right half eagles with Heraldic Eagle reverse were minted with dates from 1795 through 1807, although it is believed that those struck with dates prior to 1798 were produced in 1798 by using obverse dies on hand from earlier years.