Values
A small-eagle half eagle is the first federal gold coin. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this piece. Do not paste an auction hammer into the grade columns.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The heraldic half eagle is the next reverse. The half eagle from 1834 is a lighter coin.
Key Dates
1795 opens United States gold. 1798 is the last year this page treats as the small eagle. A date in that span with a shield belongs on the heraldic page.
Errors
Shield eagle. Outstretched wings and a shield are the heraldic type.
Ten-dollar eagle. The eagle is larger. The cap is not enough to call it a half eagle.
No table. The source does not print the grid. The grid stays empty.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
This page is the small-eagle reverse only, 1795 through 1798. The heraldic eagle is the other page. Star counts change on some dies. This page will not invent a star total for a coin that is not in hand.
- 1796/5An overdate guides name on the small-eagle half eagle. A regular 1796 punch is not this variety.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Capped Bust right half eagles, small eagle, 1795–1798.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
The chart is empty on purpose. The half eagle article does not print a year-by-year mintage table. A remembered count does not. The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. The weight row is the 1792 standard for a half eagle. No catalog page used here prints a thickness.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | 135 grains standard (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Composition | 11/12 gold, 1/12 alloy (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
No catalog page used for the Capped Bust half eagle with the small eagle prints a thickness. Diameter and thickness stay Not printed. The weight is the 1792 half-eagle standard. The heraldic reverse is not this planchet.
Grading
A small-eagle half eagle wears first on the cap and on the little eagle.
A shield reverse is the heraldic half eagle, even when the date is 1795 or 1798.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | The cap and the hair under it. | Those high points go first. |
| Small eagle | The eagle inside a wreath. | A shield means the other page. |
| Date | 1795 through 1798 only. | A later bust is not this reverse. |
| Surfaces | Adjustment marks in the fields. | Filing to weight is Mint work. Tooling it is damage. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a capped bust half eagle small if you already know the type.
- The cap and the small eagle are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this capped bust half eagle small are already slick.
- The cap and the small eagle are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1795 half eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The cap and the small eagle are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the cap and the small eagle.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The cap and the small eagle are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The cap and the small eagle still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the cap and the small eagle. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1795 half eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the cap and the small eagle.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the cap and the small eagle.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the cap and the small eagle.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the cap and the small eagle.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean capped bust half eagle small for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cap and the small eagle.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
This page is the 1795–1798 half eagle with Liberty facing right and a small eagle. It is the first gold denomination the Mint struck. The heraldic half eagle, the bust-left half eagle, and the capped head are separate pages. Classic Head and later half eagles stay on the page that begins in 1834.
The photograph is a 1795 half eagle with the small eagle, from the National Numismatic Collection.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Coinage Act of 1792 set the half eagle at 135 grains standard, eleven parts gold in twelve. Striking started in 1795. The small eagle was the first reverse and a short one. The half eagle article does not tabulate those years, so this chart does not either.
Design
Obverse: capped bust facing right. Reverse: small eagle without the heraldic shield. No mint mark. The hair under the cap and the bird are where wear shows.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The half eagle article does not print a year-by-year mintage table. This page will not fill the first gold dates from memory.
How is the heraldic half eagle different?
That reverse has a shield and outstretched wings. It has its own page, including dates that also exist with the small eagle.
Is this the 1834 Classic Head?
No. The half eagle page that starts in 1834 is the reduced-weight coin. This is the 1792 standard.
How much is a small-eagle half eagle worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this coin. An auction result is not a guide cell.
Collector Considerations
Sort by the reverse, not by the date alone. A 1795 with a shield is the heraldic page. A coin from 1834 on is the later half eagle.
A Final Word
The small-eagle half eagle page is the start of federal gold, and the chart stays empty.
An auction story is not a mintage.