The Liberty Cap Half Eagle, which is often called the Capped Bust Half Eagle, is one of the rare U.S. gold coins. The Capped Bust Half Eagle was a redesign of the older Liberty Half Eagle coins and the main difference is the style of the “cap” or turban on Lady Liberty’s head. The Liberty Cap Half Eagle coin is a rare gold coin.

History:

The history of the Liberty Cap Half Eagle starts with the original design made by John Reich. After the original draped head design of the original Liberty gold coins, John Reich made alterations to the almost turban style of Lady Liberty’s headgear so that it instead resembled a cap.

The design for the Capped Bust Half Eagle was made and struck in 1807. The design continued from 1807 to 1834, but had two other designers involved in the later coin production. Robert Scott copied Reich’s original design in 1818 and the coins made by Robert Scott continued until 1829, when William Kneass copied the design again. The copied design was finally replaced with a new design in 1834.

While several of the coins were minted in the 27 years the Capped Bust Half Eagle was in production, most of the coins were shipped abroad to Europe, where the coins were melted down for the gold content. The main problem with the coin was that the 91.76 percent gold resulted in an undervalued $5 coin. As such, many of the coins were destroyed.

Coin Design:

The design of the coin made by John Reich and later copied made changes from the original Draped Lady Liberty design.

The obverse side of the coin displays the bust of Lady Liberty looking toward the right side. The cap on her head allows her hair to fall out of the bottom and flow down the back of her neck. Liberty is written on the bottom ribbon on the cap. Lady Liberty is surrounded by 13 stars with seven sitting in front of her face on the left side of the coin and six behind her head sitting on the right side of the coin. The date the coin was minted is stamped under Lady Liberty’s bust.

The reverse side of the coin displays an eagle looking to the right who is spreading his wings and clutching an olive branch in the right talon and arrows in the left talon. On the eagle’s breast, a shield featuring the stars and stripes protects him. Under the feet of the eagle is the term “5D.” to show the value of the half eagle. Surrounding the outside of the coin and the eagle are the words “United States of America.” A ribbon sits directly below “States of” at the top of the coin and features the words “E Pluribus Unum.”

Buying the Coin:

The Cap Liberty Half Eagle coin is a rare coin that has very few surviving coins still available. Many of the coins were melted down, resulting in very few surviving coins despite the large number of coins produced during the 27 years it was minted.

The rarest year for the Cap Liberty Half Eagle gold coin is 1815, when only 635 coins were struck. This particularly year only has around 10 to 20 coins still in existence.

The price of the coin varies depending on the year and rarity. The rare coins, like the 1815 coin, might occasionally come to auction, but the price will rise quickly due to the rarity. The years that are less rare are also generally available at auctions, but the price is less for a coin that is less rare.

References:

U.S. Rare Coin Investments: Capped Bust Half Eagle
Coin Auctions Help: Capped Bust Half Eagle

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