Capped Bust Lettered Edge Half Dollars 1807-1836 Coin Guide
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Capped Bust Lettered Edge Half Dollars 1807-1836
 
Photo courtesy LeeG member of the
PCGS forum
Some coins are admired by collectors. Many are coveted. Only a precious
few are truly beloved. Early United States coppers (large cents and half
cents) fall into this special category, and so do Capped Bust/lettered
edge half dollars or, as they're widely known with warm affection,
"Bust halves."
Bust half dollars with lettered edges have undeniable charm, much like
the copper coinage of early America. They were struck with screw presses,
and each working die was prepared individually, the date, stars and
lettering being punched in by hand. These elements resulted in a myriad of
varieties. They've also enabled specialists to pinpoint just which die
struck any given coin. And this marvelous diversity is the yeast that
keeps interest rising in these coins.
The term "Bust halves" actually applies to both Capped Bust
half dollars and the Draped Bust coins that preceded them. Draped Bust
halves, in turn, come in two types: one with a small eagle on the reverse,
the other with a larger, heraldic eagle. For a short time at the end of
the Capped Bust coinage in the late 1830s, half dollars of that design
were made with reeded edges, after the introduction of steam power at the
U.S. Mint made that technology possible. The Bust halves most collectors
view with the warmest affection, though, are the Capped Bust/lettered edge
pieces issued by the Mint from 1807 to 1836. These are the real heart of
this fondly remembered era in U.S. silver coinage.
Design changes occurred with great frequency during the early years of
United States coinage, and often they were triggered by a change in
leadership at the Mint. So it was that Robert Patterson's arrival as the
Mint's fourth director in 1806 set the stage for a shake-up in designs
across the board.
Patterson not only saw the need for new designs but also had a man in
mind to create them. His handpicked choice was a talented, young,
German-born engraver named John Reich. The mint director appealed for
authorization to hire Reich as a staff engraver, maintaining that
"the beauty of our coins would be greatly improved by his masterly
hand." His argument carried the day and, in 1807, Reich was hired for
the less-than-princely salary of $600 per year, not much more than common
laborers made at that time. Then again, Reich had little leverage: he had
come to the United States as an indentured servant in order to escape the
Napoleonic Wars.
Reich's redesign was truly comprehensive, encompassing every coin from
the half cent through the half eagle, the lowest and highest denominations
then being produced. His basic obverse design was a left-facing portrait
of Liberty with curly hair tucked into a mobcap, a bit of fashion
featuring a high, puffy crown. As a consequence, this likeness is often
referred to as the "Turban Head" portrait. Liberty wears a
headband inscribed with her name, and she is surrounded by a circle of
thirteen stars, with the date below. The reverse shows a naturalistic
eagle with a shield superimposed upon its breast. The eagle clutches an
olive branch, as well as a bundle of three arrows. Above the bird is a
banner inscribed with the Latin motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The legend UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA appears in an arc around the periphery. On the Capped
Bust/lettered edge half dollar, the edge bears the statement of value:
FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR. For good measure, the inscription 50 C. also
appears below the eagle.
Reich was widely accused of basing the buxom Liberty on his "fat
mistress," though no confirmation of any specific model has ever been
found. Whoever she may have been (if indeed there was such a model), the
Capped Bust coinage was clearly an improvement over the Draped Bust style.
During the 30-year lifespan of the series, Capped Bust/ lettered edge
halves were issued every year with the single exception of 1816, when a
major fire destroyed the Mint's rolling mills and forced it to suspend all
silver coinage. Mintages routinely exceeded one million pieces a year,
reaching a peak of more than 6.5 million in 1836, the final year. The low
point occurred in 1815, when just 47,150 examples were struck. Proofs of
this type are known, but they are extremely rare.
For almost every date, though, the total mintage is broken down into
multiple major varieties, and these are what give the series its rich
flavor and broad appeal. Overdates, deviations in the size of numbers and
letters, shifts in the style of numbers-these and other varieties have
captivated and challenged collectors for generations.
The rarest of these varieties is the 1817-over-14. Only about a half
dozen examples are known. Its rarity is underscored by the fact that the
late Al C. Overton chose it as the cover coin for his popular book Early
Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836, which serves as the standard
reference work on the series. Overton's book, which identifies and
codifies the many die varieties, greatly spurred interest in Bust halves.
Collectors have paid homage to the author, in turn, by using "Overton
numbers" as shorthand for the coins.
In the first edition of his book, published in 1967, Overton put into
words the affection he felt for his favorite coinage series. In the
process, he summed up the reasons so many other hobbyists also find them
so appealing: "The collection and study of our first series of United
States half dollars ... has intrigued me almost since I began collecting
in the late nineteen twenties. These early U.S. silver coins are not only
beautiful and fascinating, but due to the large numbers made and minting
methods of the earlier years, there exists a myriad of die varieties and
sub varieties, that seem to be unequaled by any other U.S. series, not
even the large cents. This offers an almost unlimited challenge to the
collector who wishes to become a numismatic student of the early half
dollars [and] at the same time, most are within reach of the average
collector."
Capped Bust/lettered edge half dollars are plentiful in high circulated
grades. They're also readily available in mint state grades up to MS-64.
Above that level, however, their numbers drop sharply. The overwhelming
majority saw use in daily commerce, though their high face value (nearly
half a day's pay for many workers) limited that use drastically. Points to
check for wear include the drapery at the front of the bust and the edges
of the eagle's wings.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: approximately 32.5 millimeters Weight: 13.48 grams
Composition: .8924 silver, .1076 copper Edge: Lettered Net Weight: .38672
ounce pure silver
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete
Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York,
1988. Overton, Al C., Early Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836, 3rd
Edition, Escondido, CA, 1990. Souder, Edgar E., Bust Half Fever, Money
Tree Press, Rocky River, OH, 1995. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage,
Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United
States Coins, 47th Edition. Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993.
Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.
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