There is only one known variety of the half eagle of 1796. -- Edgar H. Adams, "Half Eagles and Their Die Varieties," The Coin Collectors Journal, November 1934.Bright yellow gold surfaces are chiefly reflective with some peripheral cartwheel on the obverse, satiny and lustrous with some reflectivity on the reverse. Superb sharpness and aesthetic appeal for this issue, the only die marriage of the year and one that rarely survived in high grades. The devices are sharp and the overdate is easily seen under low magnification; no magnification is required to see the ball of the 5, which still remains uneffaced. A glass reveals some granular planchet texture visible in the usually-soft region of the central obverse. Under proper light, more shallow granularity becomes apparent in the upper left obverse field and beneath LIBERTY. Some very light evidence of adjustment marks is seen near stars 14 and 15. While some hairlines are seen, very few contact marks are present, none on the obverse worth noting and the reverse shows only a shallow vertical abrasion from the second leaf to the rim at the base of that side and a thin curved hairline under the wing at right. Some gentle lapping is visible at the central reverse, most notable between the eagles legs, equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther reverse state b, the same state as the Harry Bass Core Collection coin.This is one of a small, august group of Mint State 1796/5 half eagles known, all struck from the only dies made with a 1796 date. PCGS has certified a Mint State coin on five occasions (and rendered a circulated grade just 25 times, making for a total population of almost precisely one-tenth that of the 1795 Small Eagle). Interestingly, high grade 1796/5 half eagles, like grapes, tend to sell in bunches. Auction 82 included two high grade examples, one as lot 924 and the other (this coin) as lot 1924. The first was offered in our famous 1999 John Whitney Walter Collection sale, where it was again one of two. In more recent years, we were fortunate enough to offer fine specimens in both 2006 and 2008. Since those appearances, the finest example to come to market was an NGC MS-62, sold in 2011. David Akers remarked both in his 1979 auction analysis book and his 1981 fixed price list of the Naftzger Collection that only four or five truly Uncirculated pieces are known. All parties agree that this is among the nicest of them.Though several earlier students of die varieties compiled lists of variations they saw in the early gold series, including J. Colvin Randall in the 19th century and the famous collector Waldo Newcomer in the 20th, Edgar H. Adams appears to have been the first numismatist to publish his study. Adams work appeared in several issues of Wayte Raymonds The Coin Collectors Journal in 1934. Walter Breen was the next to visit the half eagles in print, relying heavily upon Adams earlier (and highly dependable) work. Breens 1965 discussion of the 1796/5 half eagle yielded two important original thoughts: this and the similar 1796/5 half dime represent "the earliest true overdates in United States coinage" and with a "mintage [of] 6,196 ... some coins dated 1795 might have been struck during this year." John Dannreuther has estimated that the true mintage of 1796 half eagles is in the range of 1,057 to 2,000 pieces, representing just a fraction of the 6,196 delivered in that calendar year. The rest were likely dated 1795.
