1801 50C VF30 Certification #12438406, PCGS #6064

1801 50C VF30. O-102, High R.4. Slightly more than four years lapsed from the last delivery of half dollars in 1797 (May 26), until the first delivery in 1801 (August 14). The obverse remained the same as the 1796-1797 Fillet Head design, but the reverse was an entirely new design. It has traditionally been attributed to Robert Scot, and the Heraldic Eagle reverse was first used on 1796 quarter eagles (1795 Heraldic Eagle half eagles were not coined until 1798). When half dollar coinage resumed in 1801 for the first time since the fabulously rare 1796-97 coinage, the total production was a meager 30,289 coins for the year. This coin is a representative of the less common of two die pairs for this rare date, with a normal set of arrowheads on the reverse. Only two varieties are dated 1801, both of which share a common obverse die, but the reverses are promptly distinguished by checking for prominent die lumps near the arrowheads. They are present on O-101 but absent on the elusive O-102. The combination of a Draped Bust obverse and Small Eagle reverse appeared on the half dollars of 1796 and 1797. In 1801 the Mint again struck examples of the denomination, this time with the new Heraldic Eagle reverse design that was patterned after the Great Seal of the United States. Survivors are mostly in lower grades. The average certified grade is in the VF range. The present piece is the more scarce variety, and 1801 is the first and most elusive date of the Heraldic Eagle type half dollar. This example displays an attractive reddish-gray and green patina. Although the stars are flat, the devices have bold detail. E PLURIBUS UNUM is clear and the obverse has numerous adjustment marks at the base. The two reverse dies for the year are distinguished by the presence or lack of a large 'tail' on the R in LIBERTY. The O-101, which has the tail, is somewhat less scarce. As mentioned above, the O-101 variety features two die lumps (as struck) on the lower left reverse quadrant near the arrowheads, which also identifies the die marriage.