1804 Half Eagle Pattern - J-32

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

Judd-32 is the tin restrike of the 1804 Capped Bust Right half eagle; the same dies were also used for silver (J-29, J-30) and copper (J-31, J-31a) strikings. The obverse features Robert Scot's Capped Bust Liberty portrait facing right with the date 1804, and the reverse displays the Heraldic Eagle design. Like its companion restrikes, J-32 was produced from original federal dies that had been removed from the Mint, in the late 1850s or 1860s. The tin composition gives the coin a distinctive silvery-gray appearance and lighter weight compared to the copper version. These restrikes bear witness to the vigorous 19th-century market for numismatic curiosities, where enterprising collectors and dealers used retired government dies to produce pieces that, while not official, maintain a direct physical connection to the earliest years of American gold coinage. Reference data: struck in tin with a plain edge, rated R-8. Catalogued as Judd-32, Pollock-6095.

Rarity Notes

R-8 (USPatterns.com)

Cross References

Judd-32; Pollock-6095