1799 DRAPED BUST $5, SMALL STARS REVERSE MS62

SMALL STARS REVERSE. CHOICE LUSTROUS SURFACES. There are nine die marriages known for the 1799 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle, and all but two have small stars in the reverse field above the eagle's head and wings. As an issue, the 1799 is one of the more underrated Half Eagles in the early U.S. gold series. No single die variety is as plentiful as, say, the 1795 BD-3 Small Eagle or the common 1806 BD-6 Round Top 6, Stars 7x6. The 1799 is also rarer than the 1798 Large 3, 13-Star Reverse. Although federal records indicate that only 7,451 Half Eagles were struck in 1799, the production of additional examples in later years has led John W. Dannreuther (2006) to estimate the mintage for coins bearing this date at 10,000-15,000 pieces. This is still a limited total even by early U.S. Mint series and, with perhaps just 190-250 survivors of all die marriages, the 1799 is not encountered with any degree of frequency in today's market.