1805 Draped Bust Half Cent. C-1. Rarity-2. Medium 5, Stemless Wreath. MS-63 BN (PCGS). CAC. Type: Type IV: Draped Bust.Design: Obv: A draped bust of Liberty faces right, her hair tied with a ribbon. The word LIBERTY is above and the date 1805 is below. Rev: Design of 1802 to 1808. A wreath surrounds the denomination HALF CENT, the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border and another expression of the denomination, 1/200, below. A ribbon knot with double bow binds the base of the wreath.Weight Standard: 84 grains (5.44 grams).Diameter: 23.5 mm.Die Variety: Cohen-1, Breen-1, Gilbert-1. Obv: Medium 5 in the date (called Small 5 on the PCGS insert), with a line close above that is apparently the remnant of an earlier punching. The upright of the letter R in LIBERTY is missing its right foot. This is the only use of this obverse die. Rev: The Stemless Wreath reverse, and readily attributable, as such. Single leaf at the top of the left branch in the wreath, double leaf at the top of the right branch in the wreath; there are six berries on the left branch, five berries on the right branch. All of the Ts are normal, but the right foot is missing from both Ns (CENT and UNITED). There is a long die scratch from the base of the letter E in UNITED to the tip of the leaf below the outer berry left of the letter C in CENT. This is the same reverse earlier used in the 1804 C-12 and C-13 pairings, and later in the 1806 C-1 marriage.Cohen-1 is the only die variety that corresponds to the Medium 5, Stemless Wreath <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1805 half cent.Die State: Manley 2.0, the usual state. Obv: Perfect. Rev: The rim break in the denticles below the right ribbon end from Manley 1.0 now extends to the final letter A in AMERICA. Light rim crumbling is evident within the denticles outside the letters MER and IC in AMERICA.Edge: Plain.Mintage: Government records report a mintage of 814,464 half cents for calendar year 1805, achieved in four deliveries:-March 30: 439,000 coins-May 10: 113,000 coins-June 29: 142,464 coins-December 31: 120,000 coinsThe exact number of half cents struck from 1805-dated dies, however, is unknown. Some of the coins struck during calendar year 1805 were from 1804-dated dies, as well as the 1803 C-4 pairing, and coinage from 1805-dated dies (presumably the C-1 variety, see below) may have continued into 1806.Estimated Surviving Population for the Issue: 1,250 to 4,250 or more coins in all grades.Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-2: 600 to 2,000 coins in all grades.Strike: This is a boldly to sharply defined example with nearly full denticulation around both sides; only the upper left obverse border is completely smooth. Most of Libertys hair strands are crisp, the drapery lines are razor sharp, and virtually all leaves in the wreath are full.Surfaces: Glossy antique copper surfaces reveal marbling of golden-brown under a light. The texture is smooth and satiny, and both sides are strongly suggestive of an even higher Mint State rating.Commentary: This popular and readily obtainable die variety appears to be the final 1805-dated half cent produced. Manley also asserts that production ceased in favor of the 1806 C-1, the same reverse die remaining in use to produce the Stemless Wreath variety of that date. A number of Mint State survivors are known from the 1805 C-1 dies, which is good news for variety collectors seeking a high grade example of the Small 5, Stemless Wreath <em>Guide Book</em> variety. Breen knew of at least 30 Uncirculateds, with most certified coins in todays market in the BN category, as here. The ESM Collection specimen is a premium Choice example worthy of the strongest bids. From the ESM Collection.
