United States 1802/1 5 dollars
This type was struck at the Philadelphia mint 1795-1807 and supersedes an earlier type with a smaller eagle on the reverse. The heraldic eagle reverse was introduced in 1798 but 1795's and 1797's exist, likely minted in 1798 using older dies. The earlier type is very rare, this type is only rare. All the Federal gold coinage is scarce prior to the 1830's, being minted in small quantities and much of it promptly exported and melted. The original poster commented, "All known examples bear the 1802/1 overdate. It's apparent the mint was concentrating on producing $10 Eagles in 1801 (in excess of 44,300), and therefore wasn't too concerned about coining half eagles in 1801. As die steel was very difficult to come by during the mint's early years, the Philadelphia authorities decided to take the unused 1801-dated obverse dies, stamp a '2' over the '1', and voila, the birth of an overdate. There are a total of 8 varieties for the year, with PCGS & NGC combined having graded approximately 530 or so specimens to date."
Recorded mintage: 53,176.
Specification: 8.75 g, 0.917 fine gold, 25 mm diameter, designed by Robert Scot.
Catalog reference: KM 28.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
Link to: