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Lot 0439 1795 $5 Sm Eagle NCS VF Details Damaged Repair

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Lot 0439 1795 $5 Sm Eagle NCS VF Details Damaged Repair
A coin with some problems, that is plain to see, yet one with the whole weight of America's history stacked behind it giving it a boost in the eyes of most collectors. The first United States gold coins produced were the $5 denomination "half eagles" with the first examples delivered from the coiner on July 31, 1795. There are 12 known die varieties of the 1795 small eagle coinage. This was almost certainly not the entire mintage of 1795 small eagle half eagles, however. Five deliveries of half eagles were also recorded for 1796, totaling 6,196. Given the rarity of half eagles bearing the 1796 date (actually 1796/5), the fact that only one die variety has ever been identified, and that 1795 half eagles appear much more frequently, it is strongly believed that most of the 1796 mintage was actually dated 1795.