Object Details
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- designer
- Reich, John
- Description (Brief)
- One (1) 5 dollar coin
- United States, 1815
- Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty head wearing a cap. 13 stars along coin edge.
- Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1815
- Reverse Image: Eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scroll above eagle.
- Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / 5 D.
- Description
- John Reich seems to have been responsible for the first coins struck with the design seen here during the years 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 the half eagles contained eventually became worth more than the coins' face value. The 1815 half eagle started out rare (only 635 minted) and became even rarer. This coin is one of a dozen survivors of the practice of melting the coins to recover the gold in addition to those simply lost over time.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint
- 1815
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.0157
- catalog number
- 1985.0441.0157
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- Object Name
- coin
- Physical Description
- gold (overall metal)
- 0 (overall die axis)
- 0 (overall die axis measurement)
- struck (overall production method)
- Measurements
- overall: 25.1 mm; in
- place of issue
- United States
- Related Publication
- Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
- Related Web Publication
- http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
- Coins, Currency and Medals
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1076256
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-32ed-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
