1795 50C Flowing Hair Half Dollar PCGS VF30

Here's a great relic from the early days of the first US Mint in Philadelphia. Even though the original mintage of the 1795 issue was 299,680, there are relatively few examples available to collectors today in the 21st century. That is because the lion's share of Flowing Hair half dollars were shipped off as part of the extensive US-China trade, where they were discounted and melted into Chinese bullion called sycee. PCGS has graded 133 as VF30 with 348 finer. This piece features attractive original deep golden brown patina on both sides.

The first mint in Philadelphia, where this great collectible was struck in 1795.

It was in 1794 that a journalist first saw the then new Flowing Hair design upon a dollar and wrote a brief report on it. "Some of the dollars now coining at the Mint of the United States have found their way to this town. A correspondent put one into the editor's hand yesterday." He described the design elements found on both sides, as well as upon the edge. He concludes, "The tout ensemble has a pleasing effect to a connoisseur; but the touches of the graver are too delicate, and there is a want of that boldness of execution which is necessary to durability and currency." Writes numismatic art historian Cornelius Vermeule, "This criticism of device, style, and execution is one of the earliest surviving impressions of the first monumental coin of the United States." He discusses the Flowing Hair design of Robert Scot: "The young face and the youthful, flowing hair were admired symbols of the young republic." He also discusses the "goose-necked, tubular eagle within a wreath."