Draped Bust Half Dollar Values & Mintages

Grading tips

Check the hair, drapery and eagle's feathers. Original surfaces are rare and valuable.

Why so few small eagle halves were made

Early silver coinage depended on depositors, who brought silver to the Mint and chose which coins they wanted back. Most preferred dollars, which were faster to produce and easier to count. As a result the small eagle half dollar of 1796 and 1797 was struck in tiny numbers. The 1796 exists with 15 stars and with 16 stars, the extra star added after Tennessee joined the Union that year. The 1797 has 15 stars. The Mint soon realized it could not keep adding stars and returned to thirteen.

The portrait matches the Draped Bust cent and dollar of the period, based on a drawing attributed to Gilbert Stuart. The small eagle reverse shows a slender bird standing on a cloud inside a wreath, with no statement of value on the face of the coin. The value appeared only on the lettered edge, which reads FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR.

The heraldic eagle years

No half dollars were made from 1798 to 1800. When coinage resumed in 1801, the reverse carried a heraldic eagle adapted from the Great Seal, with a shield on its breast, arrows and an olive branch in its talons and a band of clouds and stars above. Critics noted that the arrows were in the eagle's more honored right talon, which was read as a warlike message. The design was used on most silver coins of the period.

Heraldic eagle halves were struck in larger numbers from 1801 to 1807. The series includes the 1805/4 overdate and the 1806 with a Pointed 6 and a Knobbed 6, along with an 1806/5 overdate. The 1807 Draped Bust half was the last before John Reich's Capped Bust design took over the same year.

Identifying die marriages

Like other early halves, Draped Bust coins are attributed by Overton numbers. Each die marriage can be identified by star positions, letter spacing and small die cracks. Collectors often begin with an 1806 or 1807, which are the most available dates, then look for overdates or scarce marriages once they are comfortable with the diagnostics.

What to watch for when buying

Early silver coins were often holed for wearing, plugged to hide the hole, scratched or harshly cleaned. Look at the coin at an angle under a single light to spot fill work in the fields, especially near the top of the obverse where holes were usually made. Adjustment marks from the Mint's file are normal and should not be mistaken for damage. The 1796 and 1797 are frequently counterfeited and should be bought only with certification.

Wear starts on the hair above the forehead, the bust line and the eagle's head and breast. Heraldic eagle coins are often weak at the top of the eagle's shield and in the stars above. A coin with even wear and natural gray or golden toning is worth more to collectors than a brighter coin that has been cleaned.

Weigh any early half you buy raw. The standard is 13.48 grams. A genuine coin with moderate wear should come in only slightly under that. A large shortfall points to heavy wear, removed metal or a cast copy.

Frequently asked questions