A Fully Struck 1800 Half Dime For Your Grading Consideration

The early Half Dimes, especially the Draped Bust pieces with either the Small or Heraldic Eagle, are noted for weak strikes. The trouble was the first U.S. Mint was trying to get an incredible amount of detail on a very small, thin coin. Part of the problem was that Robert Scot, the designer and engraver, was required to include an eagle in this tiny space. Since all of the early silver coins had the same design, that made things doubly hard. Every silver coin from the tiny Half Dime to the silver dollars had the same motifs. I can't image what it must have been like for Scot when he was working on the dies for these coins.

The 1800 Half Dime is one of the few dates in the 1800 to 1805 series that is found fully struck. It has been said that about 20 pieces are known with all of the detail that are in Mint State condition. Take a shot at this one. I know a little about its collector source but not very much. This is the most common date and variety among the Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle Half Dimes, but with this series "common" is a very relative concept. They are all scarce to rare. Among the early Half Dimes, the 1795 is the most common date. That tells you something.