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| 1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar |
United States
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$1 1795 DRAPED BUST
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NGC AU 53
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In September 1795 the United States mint introduced to Draped Bust design to its silver coinage on the silver. The new, more attractive obverse silenced critics who had labeled the Flowing Hair motif as undignified.
The small eagle that had first appeared on the 1794 dated half dimes, half dollars and silver dollars was replaced with a fledging eagle emerging into the world. Modern collectors find this design charming and appropriate because it symbolized a new nation making its first appearances on the world stage. Contemporary critics characterized it as a “turkey buzzard” and this rendering of the national bird was replaced starting in 1798.
The coins above illustrate the two varieties that were issued of the 1795 Draped Bust Dollar. The coin on the left is the piece that I have used for the registry. It is the centered bust variety, which was issued second.
The coin on the right was first piece issued and was the coin that introduced the Draped Bust design, which would be used on all of the denominations from the half cent to the silver dollar. The Bust was entered too far to the left which left the coin with an unbalanced look. Subsequent dies were properly centered for all denominations. PCGS graded this coin VF-35.
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| 1795 Half Cent |
United States
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1/2C 1795 LETTER EDGE
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PCGS AU 58 BN
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At the beginning of 1795 mint officials decided to devote all of the mint’s productive capacity to the coinage of gold and silver. Neither cents nor half cents would be produced until October of that year. This piece is one of 25,600 half cents that the mint produced during the final months of 1795. All of the half cents that were produced during that period had lettered edges and an official weight of 104 grains. As a practical matter the weight of these coins varied widely, however.
On December 28, 1795, President George Washington issued a proclamation that lowered the weight of the cent and half cent. In March Congress had authorized the president to take this action if he deemed it necessary. A temporary world wide shortage of copper had raised the price of the metal. The official weight of the half cent was lowered from 104 to 84 gains. The new lower weight half cents were too thin to accommodate edge lettering, and the edges were left blank. Mint delivery records show that all plain edge 1795 half cents were struck and delivered in 1796.
This coin is a truly outstanding example of this type. Its surfaces are virtually flawless; the detail is nearly Mint State; and its light brown color is impeccable. All pre 1800 dated half cents are scarce, but high grade examples like this are truly rare.
This is an example of the 1795 Cohen 1 die variety. The most distinctive diagnostic feature is that the die sinker, John Smith Gardner, used the “I” punch from “LIBERTY” for the “1” in the date. The variety’s rarity rating is R-2, and this tied with one other variety as the most common half cent die variety for the year. Overall there are at least five examples of this coin in Mint State. There are a fairly large number of AU pieces known (at least eight) as well, but given the eye appeal and high AU status of this piece, it is possible that this coin is among the ten best known examples of the 1795 C-1 half cent.
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| 1795 Half Dime |
United States
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H10C 1795
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PCGS AU 58
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Although they were dated 1794, the first Flowing Hair design half dimes were introduced in 1795. Numismatists have determined this by analyzing die state evidence. It has been determined that some 1795 dated half dimes were struck before some 1794 dated pieces.
These tiny coins carried the same design as the Flowing hair half dollars and silver dollars. It features a view of Lady Liberty with free flowing hair, and small, skinny eagle on the reverse.
This is a beautiful, original coin. The dealer from whom I purchased it said that it was found among a group of coins from a English hoard that was brought to a London coin shop by "a little old lady." If Ms. Liberty could only powder her shiny nose, this coin would have made MS. But then I probably could not have afforded to buy it.
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View Coin
| 1795 Half Dollar |
United States
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50C 1795
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PCGS XF 45
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The Flowing Hair – Small Eagle half dollar was the first type of 50 cent piece and the second silver coin to be issued by the United States mint. This design would appear for only two years, 1794 and 1795. The 1794 coins, which were delivered in December of that year, are scarce with a mintage of just 23,464 pieces. The 1795 half dollars are much more common with a mintage of just under 300 thousand pieces.
The 1795 half dollar is a fairly common coin relative to other early U.S. pieces, but many of the survivors are in low grade and many pieces have been damaged or improperly cleaned. I have also noted that many of these early dollars were weakly struck, which resulted in the loss of considerable design detail. The strike problems appear to be more severe for the half dollar than they were for the silver dollar and half dime, which bear the same design. Because of this, attractive pieces, like the one shown here, are very scarce and very much in demand.
The coin shown above is a very important piece. It is an Overton 120, which is listed as 1795 T-4 in the book by Steve Tompkins. It has a rarity rating of R-6 with less than 20 examples known. This is the finest known example of this rare variety with a grade of AU-58. The second finest known has EF sharpness, but has been cleaned. The third finest known pieces are two VF-30 graded coins.
The last auction appearance for this piece was in 2015. Heritage sold it at that time when it was in an NGC MS-62 holder. Subsequently it was cracked out and received a lower grade.
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View Coin
| 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar |
United States
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$1 1795 FLOWING HAIR
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PCGS XF 40
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The Flowing Hair dollars were the first U.S. silver coins that were issued by the U.S. mint for general circulation. The first delivery of finished coins was made on October 15, 1794. That year the mint struck only 1,758 silver dollars. Today only about 125 examples of the 1794 dollar are known, and they are highly sought after by collectors. In 1795 the mint issued 160,295 Flowing Hair dollars, and pieces bearing that date are most often seen in collections. Some years ago David Bowers estimated the total surviving population of Flowing Hair dollars to be from 6,000 to 9,500 coins in all grades. These estimates include pieces that have been badly worn or damaged.
The coin shown above is a very attractive example of slightly circulated Flowing Hair dollar. There is a fair amount of luster within the letters on both sides of the coin.
Although the Flowing Hair dollars are collectors’ treasures today, the contemporary press was highly critical of their appearance. Midway through the year, Ms. Liberty’s flowing locks were bound up with a ribbon, and she was given a more sedate appearance. On the reverse the skinny eagle that in some ways resembled a pterodactyl or winged dinosaur was replaced by a more realistic looking young eagle that appeared to emerging from its nest.
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| 1795 Half Eagle |
United States
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$5 1795 SMALL EAGLE
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PCGS AU 55
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The 1795 half eagles were the first U.S. gold coins. The entire mintage, which totaled 8,707 pieces, was delivered from the first U.S. mint from July 31 to September 16. At the end of that period, the mint apparently switched over to producing the 1795 eagles or $10 gold coins.
Although the Coinage Act of 1792 authorized these coins, none could be produced during the first two years of the mint’s operations. The primary reason for this was that the Chief Coiner and the Chief Assayer were required to post $10,000 bonds before they would be permitted to handle gold and silver. Since the bonding requirements were equal to more than seven years’ gross salary for both men, they could not raise the required amount. Finally Thomas Jefferson, who as the first secretary of state was in charge of the mint, arranged for loans and a reduction in the bonding requirements, which allowed these men to do their jobs.
The obverse of the coin featured a portrait of Ms. Liberty that was inspired the fashions of the period. The reverse featured a small, some called him a scrawny eagle, purchased on a palm branch with a laurel wreath in its beak. The laurel wreath may have been symbolic of the American victory over colonialism that had brought the United States into existence. Although the small eagle design is a collectors’ treasure today, critics at the time called this bird and the others that appeared on the first silver coins a “sick turkey.” As a result the design was soon replaced.
The 1795 half eagle is the most common date in the small eagle series, which also includes the years 1796 and ’97. These coins were intended to showpieces for the United States, and because of that the mint took great care in their production. Despite the small mintage, the mint used eight obverse and nine reverse dies to produce these coins. Used in various combinations there are 12 known varieties of 1795 half eagles with the small eagle reverse. This piece, which is listed as BD-3, is the most common with 175 to 225 pieces known in all grades.
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| 1795 Eagle |
United States
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$10 1795 13 LEAVES
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PCGS AU 53
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The first 1795 eagles or $10 gold pieces were struck in September 1795. The eagle was second U.S. gold denomination that the mint issued following the half eagle, which first appeared in July of the same year. These large, impressive coins were the flagship denomination of the United States gold system. They bore the same design as their smaller half eagle sisters. These coins were most often used in large financial transactions. Most contemporary Americans neither handled nor even saw on of these pieces.
The obverse features a bust of Liberty dressed in has been said to be a fashionable cap and hair style of the period. The reverse features a small eagle holding a laurel wreath in its beak. The eagle is perched on a palm branch that has 13 leaves. One rare 1795 variety has 9 leaves on the palm branch.
This coin is an example of BD variety #1. The diagnostic features are a closely spaced date with the “1” close to the curl and the top of the “5” embedded in the bust. The 11th star is also very close to the letter “Y” in “LIBERTY.” On the reverse a palm leaflet almost touches the “U” in “UNITED.” This is the most common 1795 variety. It is estimated that there are 225 to 325 surviving examples of this variety.
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