1808/7 Capped Bust Left Half Eagle
Two die marriages of 1808/7 half eagles exist, both struck with a reverse die that made its debut on the final die combination of 1807, BD-8. The first 1808/7 variety is a significant rarity, its life truncated by a die crack that essentially bisects the obverse. Fewer than 30 survivors are known in all grades. That broken obverse die was replaced with the present obverse, creating 1808/7 BD-2, but this die also broke apart, rendering this die variety almost as scarce as the first. The PCGS population of 1808/7 half eagles is more than four times smaller than that of normal date 1808 coins. In Mint State, the 1808/7 half eagle is particularly rare, and a grade higher than MS-63 has been extended on just three occasions.
The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the D. Brent Pogue Part III Auction, where it realized $105,750.