1805 1/2C Small 5, Stems, BN VG8BN Certification #42528428, PCGS #1087

Ron Guth

The 1805 Small 5 Stems Half Cent is a very scarce to rare variety made up of two underlying die varieties: Cohen 2 and Cohen 3, both of which share the same obverse but slightly different reverses. 

The nomenclature used for 1805 Half Cents can be confusing.  The Small 5 is indeed small but the Large 5 is actually a normal-sized 5.  It is only "large" relative to the Small 5.  Perhaps the easiest way to tell them apart is by comparing the distance of the 5 relative to the bust.  On the Small 5, the 5 is well away from the bust; on the "Large" 5, the tip of the 5 is close to the bust. 

No 1805 Small 5, Stems Half Cents are known above Extremely Fine.  Most examples have problems of one sort or another: porous planchets, scratches, dings, marks, etc.  Nice, problem-free examples are among the scarcest of all Half Cent varieties.

Sources and/or recommended reading:
"American Half Cents, Second Edition" by Roger S. Cohen, Jr.