1795 50C Small Head (Regular Strike)
Series: Flowing Hair Half Dollars 1794-1795
PCGS MS63
HEAD COMPARISON
PCGS XF45
- PCGS #:
- 6054
- Designer:
- Robert Scot
- Edge:
- Lettered: FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR
- Diameter:
- 32.50 millimeters
- Weight:
- 13.48 grams
- Mintage:
- 299,680
- Mint:
- Philadelphia
- Metal:
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $199,750 • MS62 • 05-19-2015 • Stack's Bowers
Major Varieties
- 1795 50C Small Head
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 400 |
| 60 or Better | 1 |
| 65 or Better | |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-6.2 |
| 60 or Better | R-10.0 |
| 65 or Better | R-10.1 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 2 / 6 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 6 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 6 |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 2 / 6 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 6 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 6 |
Condition Census What Is This?
#1 MS62 PCGS grade
Lord St. Oswald Collection - Christie’s 10/1964:144 - Reed Hawn Collection - Stack’s 8/1973:3 - Dr. George F. Oviedo Collection - Stack’s 9/1983:722 - William R. Orwen Collection - Stack’s 10/1999:341, $89,125 - D. Brent Pogue Collection - Stack’s/Bowers & Sotheby’s 5/2015:1099, $199,750 |
| #2 AU58 PCGS grade |
| #3 AU55 PCGS grade |
| #3 AU55 PCGS grade |
| #5 AU50 estimated grade |
#6 VF35 PCGS grade
|
#7 VF20 PCGS grade
|
| #8 F15 PCGS grade |
| #8 F15 PCGS grade |
| #10 F12 PCGS grade |
The 1795 Small Head Half Dollar is a distinctive type with an appearance much different from that of the "normal" 1795 heads. The length of the curls is shorter than usual, the truncation line is flatter and has an extra loop as if the portrait is a piece of statuary. Three different 1795-dated obverse dies qualify as Small Heads (Overton, 39-41): Obv. 15, 16, and 17. All are scarce to rare. Robert Hilt attributes all the Small Head obverses to John Smith Gardner.
PCGS (as of May 2011) has certified 49 examples of the Small Head 1795 Half Dollar, most of which are in Very Fine or lower grades. The PCGS Condition Census contains no Extremely Fine examples, only three About Uncirculated examples, and a single PCGS MS-62.
Sources and/or recommended reading: Hilt II, Robert P. Die Varieties of EarlyUnited States Coins. Omaha: RTS Publishing Company, 1980.
Overton, Al. C. Early Half Dollar Die Varietes: 1794-1836. Edited by Don Parlsey. Escondido: D.L. Parsley, 1990.