Flowing Hair Half Dollars 1794-1795 Coin Guide
Back to Coin
Encyclopedia Index
Flowing Hair Half Dollars 1794-1795, Photo courtesy
Barry
In recent years, the half dollar has all but disappeared from the
channels of American commerce, becoming almost irrelevant to the nation's
coinage system. That's a far cry from the role it played in America's
formative years, when it had a significant function and carried
exceptional weight. Its importance was underscored by the fact that in
1794, when United States silver coinage began, the half dollar was one of
the first three denominations to be issued in that metal, along with the
silver dollar and half dime.
Coinage in general was slow to get under way at the nation's first mint
in Philadelphia. Congress passed the law authorizing the U.S. Mint and
spelling out coin denominations and specifications on April 2, 1792-but
the first copper coins didn't go into production until 1793, and more than
two full years went by before the first silver coins emerged.
Part of the delay resulted from complications inherent in setting up a
new mint. But, to a great extent, precious metal coinage was stymied by
red tape of the government's own devising. In establishing the Mint,
Congress had decreed that two key technical officers-the chief coiner and
assayer-would have to post bonds of $10,000 apiece before they could work
with gold and silver. The intent of this was laudable: to protect the
American people from malfeasance. The effect, however, was crippling: The
designated officers couldn't come up with the money, an enormous sum by
18th Century standards, so only copper coinage could proceed.
Congress relented at length, lowering these bonds to more manageable
levels of $5,000 for the chief coiner and $1,000 for the assayer. This was
only after Mint Director David Rittenhouse secured the intervention of
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, the Cabinet officer then in charge of
the Mint. Rittenhouse himself posted bond for Chief Coiner Henry Voigt,
while Charles Gilchrist furnished security for Assayer Albion Cox.
Precious metal coinage then finally got underway.
The dollar was the first silver coin to be produced; being the largest
and having the highest face value, it was looked upon as possessing the
most prestige-something the infant nation sorely needed. But while the
silver dollar may have burnished America's image, it did little to provide
an immediate solution to the nation's coinage needs: The coining press
couldn't cope with its size and heft and broke down after fewer than 1,800
satisfactory pieces had been struck.
Rittenhouse decided to suspend dollar coinage until a better press
could be installed, a delay that would prove to be more than six months
long. Meanwhile, however, pressure built from depositors who had left
silver bullion with the government, expecting silver coinage in return. To
meet this demand, the Mint began producing half dollars, delivering the
first shipment of approximately 5,300 pieces on December 1, 1794. Thus did
the two largest U.S. silver coins assume at the very outset the relative
roles they would play for over a century: the dollar as a showpiece and
the half dollar as a workhorse.
While their roles may have been different, the 1794 dollar and half
dollar-and, for that matter, the first half dime-were identical in design.
Congress had specified that the silver coins should carry a design
"emblematic of Liberty," and Chief Engraver Robert Scot had
implemented this mandate with a right-facing portrait of a youthful female
figure whose hair flowed freely behind her-hence the descriptive term
"Flowing Hair." It's said the flowing hair was meant to signify
freedom. LIBERTY appears above the portrait, with the date below and
fifteen stars along the sides, denoting the number of states in the Union
at that time. The coin's reverse depicts a small, spread-winged eagle
perched upon a rock and surrounded by laurel branches. Along the border,
encircling this, is the motto UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The half dollar's
edge bears the inscription FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR, with decorations
between the words.
After completing the first production run of Flowing Hair half dollars,
the Mint was poised to make more. But its rolling equipment broke down, so
it couldn't flatten ingots to the proper thickness for coin blanks.
Repairs took several weeks, and as 1794 drew to a close the Mint had at
least six obverse dies on hand with that date. Rather than scrap them, it
kept making 1794 half dollars in 1795. Only when all the 1794 dies became
unusable did it start using dies dated 1795.
The Mint produced 23,464 half dollars dated 1794 and 299,680 dated
1795. It replaced the obverse in 1796 with the Draped Bust portrait of
Liberty, making the Flowing Hair version a two-year type coin. Some 1795
half dollars have a recut date, but these are not unduly elusive. Some
1795 pieces have three leaves under each of the eagle's wings, instead of
the normal two, and these are scarce. No proofs are known for this series,
which is widely collected by type.
Flowing Hair half dollars are slightly larger and heavier than their
modern counterparts. Their authorized fineness is marginally lower, but
their actual fineness is virtually the same-and thereby hangs a tale.
Congress had specified an unusual alloy of 1485/1664 silver and 179/1664
copper, for a fineness of .8924+. But Assayer Cox complained that this was
unworkable, and he made the bizarre claim that silver coins would blacken
in ordinary use unless they were at least .900 fine. He induced Director
Rittenhouse to let him use the higher standard, even though Congress
hadn't sanctioned it-meaning the Mint was breaking the law of the land.
This led to substantial losses for people who deposited bullion with the
Mint and took silver coins in return, for they had to give more silver per
coin than the law required. This irregularity wasn't corrected until the
administration of Mint Director Elias Boudinot, which began late in 1795.
A number of depositors subsequently sued for compensation and won, but
only after years of congressional wrangling.
Apparently, most Flowing Hair half dollars went right into commercial
use. While readily available in circulated condition, they are virtually
unobtainable in high mint state grades. Coins of this type can be
challenging to grade, due to irregularities in their quality of strike. It
is not unusual for Flowing Hair half dollars to wear quite unevenly.
Points to check for wear are the hair above and beside Liberty's forehead
and the center of the eagle's breast.
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, Third
Edition, Escondido, CA, 1990. 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.
|
|
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://kitconet.com/images/quotes_special.gif)