U.S. COIN REFERENCE · Draped Bust half eagle
Early half eagles: a small or heraldic eagle on five dollars
Two reverse styles can share an early date.
By SalarsNet · Reviewed October 5, 2026
The two eagle families
The early half eagle has a right-facing capped portrait. Small-eagle and heraldic-eagle reverses are distinct types; some early-dated heraldic-eagle coins are believed to have been made later with retained obverse dies. A year and portrait cannot supply the complete chronology or specification.
Type references: PCGS Draped Bust $5 ↗
Attribute the whole die pair
Photograph date, stars, reverse eagle, edge, and any actual dimensions. Compare letter and device placement against a specialist reference. The 1798 small-eagle candidate requires particularly strong evidence. An extra-looking line in a numeral should explain the rest of the proposed die pair too.
Type references: PCGS Draped Bust $5 ↗
Authentication and original surfaces
Inspect high points, fields, and rims for friction, hairlines, tooling, and repair. Early gold provenance and verifiable certification can materially strengthen the record. Match reverse type, exact attribution, and surface quality in sales; reported annual production does not establish survival of a particular die pairing.
Type references: PCGS Draped Bust $5 ↗
Selected reviewed issue records
These catalog standards describe the named issue, not a measured specimen. The selected records below do not cover every date, mint, strike, or die variety. Reported production is labeled separately from established mintage. Unknown standards and mintage remain visible; survival estimates and certified populations are separate research questions.
No issue-level specification or mintage records are published for this category yet. Verify the exact date, mint, strike, metal, and subtype in its reference before using a numerical standard.
References and review
Reference reviewed October 5, 2026. Historical facts and catalog standards need to match the exact issue; price comparisons should be researched at the time of valuation.
Continue collecting
← Historic gold · U.S. coin reference · All collecting guides