Half Eagle Gold $5

The half eagle was first introduced in 1795 and was the first coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint. In its early years, the $5 coin was primarily used in bullion exchanges, indicating that many of the coins were either shipped abroad or melted. For this reason, half eagles dated between 1795 and 1834 are extremely rare.

The first half eagle produced was made of over 90% gold and carried a capped Liberty design. In 1798, the reverse was changed from a design depicting a small eagle design to one depicting a large, heraldic eagle. Interestingly, the mint also chose to strike some large eagle reverse pieces with the obverse dies of earlier years, yielding some interesting pieces for collectors.

hn. By 1834, the practice of melting half eagles and similar coins for bullion had led to a shortage of gold coins in circulation. To remedy this, Congress mandated that all gold coins be reduced in gold composition and size. When the half eagle coin’s specifications were adjusted to meet the new regulations, the Mint also decided to introduce a new design, the Classic Head style.

In 1839, the half eagle design was again changed, this time to the profile of a Liberty bust. The same design was used on the quarter eagles of the period. The Liberty Head half eagles were produced for nearly 70 years before the design was retired in 1908 and replaced by an Indian head motif. The striking method was also revised so that design elements were incused into fields rather than raised up from them. The coins were produced for a few years before the First World War forced their suspension. The Mint resumed production in 1929 but by the end of the year it was decided to abandon the denomination entirely.

Half Eagle Gold $5 coins