A 1795 Half Dollar Submitted For Grading

The first U.S. Mint produced a fairly large number of half dollars in 1795. The reason was the mint was waiting on the delivery of a larger coin press which would be used to strike silver dollars. The mint had introduced the U.S. silver dollar in 1794. Most of those coins were weakly struck because the mint had tried to make them on a large cent press. That press could not exert enough pressure on the large silver dollar dies to produce fully struck coins. Therefore it was decided that coinage of the silver dollar would be delayed until the new press arrived. In the mean time depositors, who wanted the largest silver coins possible, had to content themselves with half dollars instead.

The new silver dollar press when into service in June of 1795. For sometime after that the mint responded to depositor demands and produced relatively large numbers of silver dollars. The half dollars, on the other hand, were produced in very small quantities thus creating the rare and quite expensive 1796 and '97 fifty cent pieces.

So what grade would you give this 1795 Flowing Hair half dollar?