1806 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. BD-6. Rarity-2. Round-Top 6, Stars 7x6. AU-55 (PCGS).Bright marigold yellow throughout with regions of darker olivine surrounding the devices towards the edges, with a tiny darker spot by star 5, an excellent marker for provenance. Crisply struck with well-defined details, this lovely example exhibits only the lightest evidence of rubbing and minimal abrasions that are indicative of the grade. Attractive and worthy of serious consideration.The half eagle served as one of the principal gold denominations for everyday commercial life. To help meet the demand for the denomination, the Mint researched various ways to help extend die life and found a solution by placing the obverse die to the anvil position on the base of the coining press with the reverse die taking the role of hammer die. By doing so, not only is the service life of the dies extended, but the obverse die could also impart a sharper and crisper impression. Consequently, in 1806 at least 64,093 half eagles were struck using five obverse dies and six reverse dies paired together in a total of six different combinations. Of these five obverses, only one used a 6 number punch with a rounded off top. The final die pair employed, Bass-Dannreuther 6, proved to be the most resilient ultimately producing somewhere between 35,000 and 50,000 pieces out of the total issue. Even with the increase in production, large numbers of half eagles ended up in the hands of bullion speculators during the large scale meltings of the 1820s and 1830s. Even with this high attrition rate, somewhere between 600 and 900 examples of the BD-6 1806 half eagles are believed extant, with nearly a third of these in high grade, making this an especially desirable variety for type collectors who do not want to compromise on quality. For the discerning budget-minded numismatist seeking a high grade early half eagle, look no further.From the Dr. Andrew Mitchell Collection.
