The 1795 Small Eagle Half Eagle
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The 1795 Small Eagle half eagle is a first-year issue, and along with the 1795 eagle it is one of the two first gold coins made by the fledgling Federal mint.
Read MoreThe 36 Major Gold Types: A Collectors Guide
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Between 1795 and 1933 a total of 36 major gold types were issued for circulation. I’m going to discuss each type in more detail with suggestions on how and what to buy and some “alternative” dates to spice-up a type set.
Read MoreThe Enigmatic Proof-Only 1887 Half Eagle
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For reasons still unknown, no business strike half eagles were made in 1887 and a total of just 87 coins were made; all as Proofs. This gives the 1887 the honor as the single lowest produced date in the entire half eagle denomination.
Read MoreWhy No Motto Philadelphia Half Eagles May be the Best Value in Today's Dated Gold Market
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I have written these words before but I still feel that the No Motto Philadelphia half eagle date run, issued from 1840 through 1865, contains a number of under-appreciated issues. These issues clearly don’t include the 1862-1865 which are now in strong demand due to their Civil War issuance, but which do include nearly all the dates made between 1840 and 1861.
Read MoreWhat is the Rarest New Orleans Half Eagle?
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A total of 17 half eagles were produced at the New Orleans mint between 1840 and 1909. Focusing on the No Motto Liberty Head issues (struck between 1840 and 1857) there are at least five issues which I would call “rare” (i.e., fewer than 100 examples known in all grades). These are the 1842-O, 1847-O, 1855-O, 1856-O, and 1857-O. Of these five, which is the rarest in terms of overall rarity and which is the rarest in high grades?
Read MoreWhat's the "Next Big Thing" in Rare Date Gold? Five Suggestions:
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In the last decade, we have seen a number of Next Big Things in the rare date gold market. We’ve seen New Orleans double eagles and Carson City double eagles. We’ve seen Civil War issues, and we’ve seen No Motto San Francisco eagles. In most cases, we’ve seen big demand spikes and subsequent price increases in these areas. What could be the Next Big Thing and why? Here are five suggestions with explanations.
Read MoreHow Rare Are Choice High-Grade Dahlonega Half Eagles?
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Since I wrote the first of my three editions of Dahlonega gold books over two decades ago, I’ve sought to constantly remind collectors that truly choice, high-grade (in this instance high-grade equates to coins which grade AU55 and above) Dahlonega half eagles are rare, regardless of how “common” the issue seems to be in terms of overall rarity.
Read MoreTen Reasons Why Fives Are the New Tens, or: A Love Letter to Half Eagles
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In my opinion, the size of this coin is just about perfect (confession: when it comes to silver, I like the quarter dollar as the “right” size). In the early gold series I like the size of the half eagle better than the quarter eagle or the eagle, and in the Liberty Head series, I like the size and the collectability factors. In the 20th century, I like the Indian Head half eagle both for its unique incuse design and its challenge of completability.
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