When Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Coin Resource Center launched in 2023, it included 250 entries on key date United States coins; naturally, the 1802 Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle half dime was among them. Long regarded as one of the most significant early American numismatic rarities, the 1802 Heraldic Eagle half dime has been exhaustively studied by early American coin and half dime experts and our CRC entry captures much of this work, offering a readable, comprehensive account of this landmark coin.
The CRC’s narrative is lengthy, providing details about the coin’s history, collectability, and the efforts of various collectors and researchers to explore this rare date over the course of a century, concluding with the expert assessment that 25 to 30 still exist. Strike is characteristically weak, and the coins saw some circulation which, combined with its minuscule mintage, resulted in the tiny surviving population of coins, the finest of which is graded AU-55. Collectors new to the world of early American coins will learn much, not only about the 1802 half dime but the history of the early U.S. Mint from the narrative.
The CRC is an evolving database and the 1802 is, at time of writing, the only entry for the Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle subtype. More will be added in the weeks and months to come.
As is the case with other CRC entries, the entry on the 1802 half dime includes high-quality images, links to the handful of recent auction appearances of the coin, and to Coins in Motion animations. Unlikely as it is that our readers have a new example, there is a link to contact our staff. A link to submit corrections also appears, as on other CRC listings.
