Photos used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Description:
Robert Patterson, a respected scholar with ties to President Thomas Jefferson, was appointed Director of the U.S. Mint in 1805. As Director, he was instrumental in the ascension of John Reich to the position of Second Engraver under Chief Engraver Robert Scot. Reich came to this country from Germany as an indentured servant to get away from the Napoleonic Wars. Patterson gave to the talented Reich the responsibility of revamping the designs of U.S. coins, a task applied to the half cent for the 1809 issue. Reich was an assistant under Engraver Robert Scot, who apparently was unwilling to give Reich the same credit for his abilities as did both the Mint Director and the President. After not receiving a pay raise in the nearly ten years since his appointment, and seeing his designs modified by Scot during his tenure, Reich resigned from the Mint in 1817.

Reich’s portrayal of Liberty was more reserved than the previous Draped Bust design and was reminiscent of classical art, though the Classic Head name was not attached to the design until 1868 by Ebenezer Mason. Mason’s label was apparently due to the depiction of a fillet, Liberty’s narrow headband, that dates to ancient Greece. The depiction of the fillet was considered incongruous because only young males wore the band in ancient times, as a prize awarded to the winners of athletic contests. A harsher criticism, born of rumor or disdain (or both), was that Liberty was a representation of Reich’s “fat mistress”. There were issues more serious than those of artistic merit, however, in that by 1809 the growth of commerce in this country was minimizing the value of the half cent as a denomination for transactions. This situation, combined with a shortage of copper planchets from the English firm of Boulton & Watt during the War of 1812, resulted in suspension of half cent production after 1811.

Minting of half cents resumed in 1825, presumably in response to orders by a Baltimore merchant, though the new coins had design modifications by Chief Engraver William Kneass (Scot died in 1823 and Reich had left years earlier). Even with the orders, more half cents were produced than needed, and no coins of the denomination were minted in 1827 or 1830, though production resumed in 1831. 1836 half cents were made only as proofs, and in the mid-19th century restrikes of some dates, both circulation and proof, were made. No half cents were produced from 1837 through 1839, but some include an 1837 privately issued Hard Times token as part of a period half cent collection.

Reich’s Liberty faces left, displaying a more reserved and mature countenance than the previous Draped Bust type. Her long, curling hair drapes over the forehead, around the ear, down the side and back of the neck, and is tied at the back. The headband prominently displays the word LIBERTY across the facing side. A circle of dentils or beads follows along the rim. Thirteen six-point stars frame the portrait, seven to the left and six to the right; a notable 1828 variety has twelve stars, seven to the left and five to the right. The date is located below the portrait at the bottom. The reverse features a dentilled rim, within which is a concentric circle formed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, broken at the bottom by the tied ends of a laurel branch with berries that forms an inner wreath. At the center is the denomination of HALF CENT, the words on separate lines with a centered dot between; a short horizontal line is under CENT. All half cents of the type were minted at Philadelphia and show no mintmark.

A few thousand business strike Classic Head half cents have been certified, though some varieties and color types are represented by fewer than 100 pieces, and some by fewer than 10 examples. Coins are described as Brown (BN), Red-Brown (RB), or Red (RD), with RB examples less common than BN, and RD the most scarce. Prices are moderate for many issues up to MS63, but are expensive finer than that, particularly for RB and the scarce RD examples. Higher priced dates include 1811 and 1831, the latter the most expensive coin of the type. Very few proof examples were minted, from 1831 through 1836, though one Specimen example for 1811 is listed in census/ population reports. Some proofs are restrikes, all are rare and expensive at PR60 to very expensive as PR63 and finer; all Original 1831 proof half cents are very expensive

Specifications:
Designer: John Reich, modified by Robert Scot and William Kneass
Circulation Mintage: high 1,154,572 (1809), low 51,000 (1832, estimated)
Proof Mintage: none reported or known, 1809-1829; 25 (1831-1836, estimated)
Denomination: One half cent (005/100)
Diameter: 23.5 mm, plain edge
Metal Content: 100% copper
Weight: 5.44 grams
Varieties: Several known including 1809 Small o Inside O and 9 Over Inverted 9; 1811 Wide Date, Close Date, and Reverse of 1802 (restrike); 1828 13 Stars and 12 Stars; 1831 Large Berries Reverse of 1836 and Small Berries Reverse of 1840-1857 (restrike, proof); 1836 Reverse of 1840-1857 (restrike, proof); and other minor die variations.

Additional Resources:
CoinFacts: www.coinfacts.com
Coin Encyclopedia: www.ngccoin.com
Early American Coppers: www.eacs.org
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of Early United States Half Cents 1793-1857. Walter Breen. American Institute of Numismatic Research.
The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. R.S Yeoman (author), Kenneth Bressett (editor). Whitman Publishing.
A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett. Whitman Publishing.
The Experts Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Don Taxay. Arco Publishing.
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Walter Breen. Doubleday.

Last Updated : 04/24/2009

Photos used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Description:
In 1907 a collaboration between the dynamic president Theodore Roosevelt and renown American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens resulted in the replacement of the previous Liberty Head design on the ten dollar gold coin. The new design featured a native American on the obverse, and a standing eagle on the reverse. The Indian was modeled after the figure of Nike (representing Victory) that was part of the Saint-Gauden’s equestrian Sherman Monument located at the entrance to New York’s Central Park, and the reverse was a representation of America’s symbol, the bald eagle. While the sculptural effects of the original designs are admired (most noticeable on the Wire Rim and Rounded Rim pieces initially produced), the representation of Liberty adorned by a ceremonial headdress not worn by female native American was incongruous; and the eagle, though dramatically posed, has longer legs and other differences from an actual bald eagle. Artistic license aside, a more serious issue for the Mint was the reality that the raised edge of the first Indian Head coins (Wire Rim – Mintage 500) would not stack, a problem for commerce, and the modified rounded rim (Rolled Rim – Mintage 42) pieces apparently would not strike with satisfactory quality.

It was left to the often maligned Chief Engraver Charles Barber to make additional changes (he had changed the raised rim to the rounded rim) so that the Indian Head eagle could be produced efficiently and in sufficient quantities for commerce; or as one scholar described it, “turning unusable designs into something practical.” Barber’s efforts are often criticized, but the changes were successful in terms of production, and hundreds of thousands of the eagles were minted in 1907 and 1908. The type is today considered one of the most popular U.S. coin series, and is defined not only by Barber’s changes to the designs but by the omission of IN GOD WE TRUST (the early Wire Rim and Rounded Rim pieces also did not have the motto). That phrase appeared on the previous Liberty Head eagles, and was in fact mandated by the Act of March 3, 1865, but was left off by Saint-Gaudens. Many commentators attribute that omission to the sheer willpower of Teddy Roosevelt, who apparently believed that placing religious sentiment on circulating coinage was a form of blasphemy: the same coin that showed up in this week’s offering plate might be on the gambling table next week. Congress disagreed however, likely encouraged by strong public opinion, and the motto was added to reverse for issues produced later in 1908.

Liberty faces left on the obverse, wearing a many-feathered bonnet which displays LIBERTY across the front. Strands of flowing hair appear below the headdress at the forehead and across the side to the back. Thirteen six-point stars form an arc inside the raised rim above though slightly touching the feathers of the headdress. The date is centered at the bottom, crowding both the portrait and the rim. On the reverse a majestic eagle faces left and rests on a bundle of arrows with an olive branch intertwined. Inside the raised rim is UNITED STATES OF AMERICA at the top and TEN DOLLARS a the bottom, the words of both legends separated by centered, somewhat triangular dots. At the upper right, above but touching the eagle and below OF AMERICA is E PLURIBUS UNUM, each word on a separate line with no enclosing dots as on the wire and rounded rim pieces. The edge has 46 raised stars. No Motto Indian Head eagles were minted at Philadelphia and Denver; the D mintmark is to the lower left above the tip of the olive branch, with the bottom edge ‘parallel’ to the curved rim.

A few thousand No Motto Indian eagles have been certified, and prices are moderate to MS62, expensive to MS64, and very expensive finer. The 1908-D No Motto is extremely expensive as Gem and finer. Proofs of the type are enigmatic; only one example has been certified to date (in matte finish), and would likely be priced at over one quarter million dollars.

Specifications:
Designer: Augustus Saint-Gaudens, with modifications by Charles Barber
Circulation Mintage: high 239,406 (1907), low 33,500 (1908)
Proof Mintage: only one example certified, dated 1907
Denomination: $10.00
Diameter: 27 mm, edge with 46 raised stars
Metal Content: 90% gold, 10% copper
Weight: 16.72 grams
Varieties: Very few minor die variations have been identified, however the two major 1907 Rim varieties mentioned above are highly collectible and expensive. (Pictured is one of the finest known Rolled Edge 1907 Eagles in existence. Graded PCGS MS-67, it sold in the 2007 Heritage FUN (January) Sale for $402,500.

Additional Resources:
CoinFacts: www.coinfacts.com
Coin Encyclopedia: www.ngccoin.com
Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933. Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett. Whitman Publishing.
The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. R.S Yeoman (author), Kenneth Bressett (editor). Whitman Publishing.
A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett. Whitman Publishing.
The Experts Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Don Taxay. Arco Publishing
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Walter Breen. Doubleday.

Last Updated : 04/14/2009