1795 $5 BD-9, Small Eagle (Regular Strike)

In 1795, employees at the U.S. Mint produced 8,707 Half Eagles, amounting to $43,535 in face value. Within that limited mintage, researcher John Dannreuther identified twelve different die marriages. That works out to an average of a mere 725 coins per die pair! Obverses and reverse appear to have failed evenly, as the twelve die marriages are comprised of eight different obverse dies and nine different reverse dies.

As one might expect, many of the individual die varieties among the 1795 Half Eagles are very rare and that is, indeed, the case. Dannreuther rates three varieties as Rarity 7 (4-12 known), two as Rarity 6 (13-30 known), and six as Rarity 5 (31-75 known). BD-9 is one of the R-5 varieties, a rating borne out by the relatively small number of auction appearances. Condition is also an issue on this variety. Most examples are EF to AU at best, and we know of no Mint State examples. The finest example to appear at auction in recent years was the PCGS AU55 in the April 2016 Stack's-Bowers sale. This variety suffers often (usually) from a poor strike in the centers, resulting in flatness in the hair over Liberty's ear and on the eagle's breast (both of which are high points that oppose each other in the dies). Adjustment marks are sometimes seen, but not to any distracting degree.