1798 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. Heraldic Eagle. BD-4. Rarity-4+. Large 8, 13-Star Reverse. Fine Details--Cleaned (PCGS). With all major design elements boldly outlined, this more affordable Fine example allows full appreciation of this classic early U.S. Mint gold design type. Moderate hairlines and a somewhat subdued appearance to deep straw-gold surfaces explain the PCGS qualifier. The diagnostic cud breaks of this die pairing at the upper reverse rim are well developed, equivalent to BD Die State d/e.<p>Since its introduction in 1795, the half eagle became a popular larger denomination coin in commercial use. Production was maintained at a fairly consistent rate beginning in 1797, despite the frequent yellow fever outbreaks for which Philadelphia was well known. During these outbreaks, coinage operations were interrupted often for months at a time, compelling Mint personnel to employ some novel die pairings using whatever was on hand at the time in order to meet demand. The die pairs employed in 1798 used reverses that have been the subject of study for decades. Both the obverse and reverse dies employed for the BD-4 combination suffered from clashing early in their service lives. The obverse die began to crack, while the reverse -- used only for this pairing -- suffered from cuds and cracks. While trying to maintain their usefulness as long as possible, both dies were lapped, but even this could not prevent them from failing completely (seemingly not long after the present specimen was struck). Out of the reported mintage of 24,867 half eagles, between 5,000 and 7,000 coins were struck from this die pair before failure, making this the most available of all the 1798-dated half eagle varieties, and all pre-1800 half eagles in general. The BD-4 is far from common in an absolute sense, of course, due in no small measure to the rampant speculation and meltings of the 1820s. In fact, no more than 100 examples likely survive for numismatists. This more affordable example is an ideal choice for the budget minded collector.
