As we continue our series following along with Whitman Publishing’s fourth edition of the 100 Greatest United States Coins, we look to yet another case of the United States Mint reusing coinage dies and the outcome of such decisions. Topping off our list at the very bottom, this next coin is “one of the great rarities of the denomination,” according to author Jeff Garrett.
#100 – 1819 Capped Head Half Eagles (Two Varieties)
There are two varieties of the 1819 half eagle: the Close Date, Normal 5 and the Wide Date, 5D Over 50. Why? This is an example that clearly occurs due to the reuse of dies. In this case, the Philadelphia Mint reused an errored die from 1818 in 1819. According to Garrett, an engraver negligently punched “50” into the original die, only realizing his mistake later. He would punch the correct “5D” over the first punch. However, it was made clear that the mistake was still there. That die was finally suspended later in 1819.
While official Mint records indicate that over 51,000 half eagles were struck in 1819, Garrett finds this hard to believe due to the scarcity of the coins. Because of the reuse of dies year after year, this leads to “inaccurate and misleading” mintage numbers. It is believed that fewer than two dozen 1819 half eagles are known to exist between the two varieties. Of the two, the 5D Over 50 variety is the more famous, but the 1819 Close Date, Normal 5 is the rarest. It is estimated that only six to ten of those exist.
Historical market value differs based on the particular variety of the 1819 Capped Head half eagle. In 1960, the Close Date, Normal 5 variety in an About Uncirculated condition was valued at $1,500. By this fourth edition (2015), that value rose to $100,000. For the Wide Date, 5D Over 50 in About Uncirculated condition, the value was at $1,500 in 1960 and rose to $75,000 by the fourth edition.
