1798 $5 Draped Bust Half Eagle, Large 8 13 Star Reverse PCGS AU58

Here is a treasure that a sophisticated numismatist will strongly consider including among his or her collection. The original mintage was 24,867. However, PCGS reports that there are only 150-200 known today in the 21^st century. Why is that so? Frankly, it is because Alexander Hamilton miscalculated when he determined the silver to gold ratio to be 15:1. Gold coins were undervalued (until 1834!) and the vast majority of them were shipped off to Europe and sold for their bullion value. The very rare survivors, including this offering from AUCM, were mostly held in the First Bank of the United States. PCGS has graded 20 as AU58 with 31 finer. In CAC, there are 6 in AU58 with 8 finer.

Painting of a woman wearing a mobcap, which may be the inspiration for Robert Scot’s headwear on the Draped Bust gold coinage he designed and engraved.

Considering the obverse Draped Bust design of Robert Scot, numismatist Walter Breen feels that Scot more than likely, “copied some unlocated contemporaneous engraving of a Roman copy of a Hellenistic goddess, altering the hair, adding drapery and an oversize soft cap.” Breen also reproduced an 1825 letter from Mint Director Samuel Moore that states that the cap on the gold coins was “not the Liberty cap inn form, but probably conforming to fashionable dress of the day.” Perhaps Lady Liberty’s headpiece is a mob cap, which was the fashion of the day.

Discussing the design, Cornelius Vermeule analyses the Liberty on Scot’s gold coinage: "Criticism comes easy, however, and it must not be overlooked that Robert Scot's first gold coinage has a positive character of its own, a healthy individuality and almost rustic charm that conveys the message of a young nation seeking its identity as well as any monumental manifestation of the early arts in America."