1807 Half Eagle

HBCC#:

3108

Breen#:

6452

BD#:

6

Judd#:

n/a

Pollock#:

n/a

This is the final 1807 Draped Bust variety minted, according to die state information, and is a distinctly different from all others. The obverse has very tall digits in the date, providing Breen’s Large Date description. If information from J.R. Snowden is correct, as related above at HBCC-3105, examples of this variety were likely minted in June 1807. This was just prior to the Mint closing for its annual yellow fever break. Two examples of this variety were acquired by Harry Bass, with this Choice Mint-State example standing among the finest known.

Provenance:

Purchased from Stanley Kesselman, November 6, 1970.

Obverse:

Reverse:

Commentary:

"Obverse: Bust right. Large Date. Large stars. Lowest hair strand at right truncated by lapping. Lowest curls at left shorter and missing due to further lapping of this die. Front edge of drapery also weakened by lapping. 1 recut north, its top left serif just free of bottom of hair strand. New wider 0 punch; repunched east with first 0's right side being visible within 0 at its interior right side. Star 1 shows points of a prior punch at left sides of three lowest points. No crack. No clash. Lapped. Reverse: Large stars. Leaf point touches right base of I(C). A diagonal spine runs from this leaf point across lower half of I(C). Now no rust lump in field to left of top of T(A). Crack from bottom left serif of N across arrow heads to junction of shield and right wing, thru top right point of shield, thru stars 12, 7, between stars 1 and 2. No longer into second cloud from left because of lapping. Third cloud from left nearly lapped away."