1795 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. Small Eagle. BD-4. Rarity-5. EF-40 (PCGS).Light yellow gold surfaces are completely free of any surface debris and sparkle somewhat from the scattered fine handling marks. There are no serious marks, however, and close inspection reveals evidence of the prooflike texture this piece had when it was struck in the tight recesses of the design. The strike was just slightly uneven, with the leftmost dentils visible but not nearly as well formed as on rightmost side. Excellent detail remains for the grade assigned, in fact it looks a little sharper than the grade suggests. One of the great classics in American numismatics as these were the first half eagles struck in America and display the elegant Capped Bust head of Liberty with the Small Eagle reverse. The half eagle denomination formed the gold backbone of the fragile banking system at the time, along with the silver half dollar and dollars (both minted in significant quantities in 1795). The gold and silver coins were retained by banks to prop up reserves, and hence a fair number of these survived after limited circulation.PCGS# 519853.Ex Twelve Oaks Collection.
