1809 Capped Bust Half Eagle : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The 1809 Capped Bust Half Eagle $5 gold coin is sometimes referred to as the 1809/8 overdate. This designation was applied in the 19th century and became ubiquitous in the collecting hobby by the 1950s, but more recent study holds that the “9” was repunched and residue of the first punch remained. Die rust is also apparent on Liberty’s bust. Additionally, die cracks develop through the left stars to the point of the bust on the obverse and through the second “S” of STATES on the reverse. When clashed, marks are visible above the eagle’s wings.

Numismatist John Dannreuther in Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834 (2006), suggested that the actual mintage of 1809-dated Capped Bust Half Eagles was only a portion of the Mint’s published total of 20,000 to 33,875 pieces. Perhaps 400+ are known today, making it scarcer than the 1807, the 1808 Normal Date, and Capped Bust Half Eagles struck from 1810 through 1812. It is usually seen in circulated grades and it is only marginally scarce in the lowest Uncirculated grades. It becomes quite scarce in properly graded MS62, rare in MS63 and very rare in MS64. There are only a handful of true Gems in MS65 and above.

CAC, NGC, and PCGS report a combined certified population of just over 200 examples in Mint State. This figure seems to overreport the total number of unique coins (if one goes by auction appearance frequency), likely because of unreported regrades and crossovers. To those considering the purchase of a Mint State coin, be advised that most early United States gold coins, even those in certified holders, have been cleaned or processed. Expect coins with any significant degree of originality to command a premium.

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1809 Capped Bust Half Eagle Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Collector William Woodin purchased the Lorin G. Parmelee coin in New York Coin and Stamp’s June 1980 auction (lot 862) for $11.

Top Population: PCGS MS66 (2, 5/2024), NGC MS65 (1, 7/2024), and CAC MS66 (1:0 stickered:graded, 7/2024).

1809/8: Bass Dannreuther-1. Only known dies. Rarity-3+. Under digit may actually be a misplaced “9”. Through August 2013, NGC had verified 18 in MS63 with 32 finer.

• PCGS MS66 #31914376: F.C.C. Boyd; Boyd to Numismatic Gallery, en bloc, by sale, 1945; “World’s Greatest Collection of United States Gold Coins,” January 1946, Lot 356; David W. Akers, by sale, August 1985; “The D. Brent Pogue Family Collection, Part III,” February 9, 2016, Lot 3136 – $152,750. Pogue novelty insert. Finest known.
• PCGS MS65 #32231623: As PCGS MS65. “The C.L. Lee Sale,” American Numismatic Rarities, September 18, 2005, Lot 1240 – $77,625. As PCGS MS65 #32231623. “The McCoy Family Collection of U.S. Early Gold,” Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2018, Lot 5026 – $72,000. Die state b/b.
• NGC MS65: Stack’s, November 16, 2012, Lot 3267 – $81,075.
• NGC MS65 #3128600-007: Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2012, Lot 4860 – $69,000. Die state b/b.
• NGC MS65 #309795-001: Stack’s, June 25, 2008, Lot 2074 – $106,375; Heritage Auctions, February 6, 2009, Lot 2676 – $92,000.
• PCGS MS64+ CAC #25565874: Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2012, Lot 4859 – $57,500; Legend Rare Coin Auctions, April 28, 2022, Lot 50 – $79,312.50. Die state b/b or c/c.
• PCGS MS64+: Stack’s Bowers, June 14, 2011, Lot 9433 – $52,037.50.

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Design

Obverse:

The obverse displays a somewhat mature and stout version of Liberty facing left, her head covered with a mobcap (an early 19th-century woman’s headdress) under which curls of long hair drape over the forehead and down the back of the neck. The cap displays the word LIBERTY along a ribbon banner at the cap’s base. Thirteen six-pointed stars encircle the portrait inside a denticulated rim, the ring broken by an opening for the date at the bottom, below the truncation of the neck.

Reverse:

The reverse center displays a left-facing eagle, wings outstretched nearly to the denticulated rim, body covered by a Union shield, an olive branch in the right claw (left to the observer), and three arrows in the left claw. Above the eagle is a concentric banner below STATES OF, folded back at the ends, displaying E PLURIBUS UNUM. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles inside the rim, separated into three parts by the eagle’s wing tips, and the denomination of 5 D.

Edge:

The edge of the 1809 Capped Head Half Eagle is reeded, a common anti-counterfeiting tactic.

Coin Specifications

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