One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1815
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty head with flowing hair wearing cap, 13 stars along coin edge.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1815
Reverse Image: Eagle with wings outstretched clutching branch and arrows in talons, shield over chest with vertical stripes on bottom part and horizontal stripes on top part, ribbon over eagle's head.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / 5 D.
For reasons unknown, designer John Reich's earlier bust of Liberty was abandoned in favor of a crude, almost ugly head. Reich seems to have been responsible for the coins struck with the new design from 1813 to 1815. Then Robert Scot made a trite design worse by coarsening Liberty's hair and retouching her cap. Thus amended, the Reich/Scot half eagles remained in production through 1829.
Most were melted, as the gold they contained eventually became worth more than their face value. The 1815 half eagle started out rare (only 635 minted) and became rarer as the coins were melted down. Perhaps a dozen remain including this one.
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