1795-2020 $5 Capped Bust Gold & Silver Set, Smithsonian Collection NGC PR70 Ultra Cameo w/box

Stunning tributes to the first gold U.S. coin!

It was in 1795 that the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia produced the first gold coin of the United States: the $5 Gold Capped Bust Half Eagle. The year 2020 marked this issue’s 225th anniversary, and the Smithsonian® commemorated that historic event by authorizing a limited number of gold and silver proofs featuring that iconic, original design.

These silver and gold tribute coins accurately recreate the historic and beautiful $5 Gold Capped Bust Half Eagle — the silver one contains two full ounces of pure 99.9% fine silver, while the gold coin was struck with three quarters of an ounce of 99.99% pure gold. Designed by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Robert Scot, the coin portrays Lady Liberty sporting a Phrygian cap, surrounded by 15 stars that represent the number of states in 1795. On the reverse is depicted an eagle with its wings spread, a laurel wreath grasped in its beak and an olive branch in its powerful talons. The slight changes for these 225th Anniversary releases include dual dates of 1795-2020 and the Smithsonian’s sun logo upon the reverse.

The First U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, where the original 1795 $5 Gold Capped Bust Half Eagle was struck. Image: Public domain.

The designs on these pieces are more dramatic due to their gorgeous proof cameo finish, the result of hand-selected planchets, polished dies and multiple strikes to produce beautifully frosted details rising over deeply mirrored fields. The designs are so sharply struck that the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) has graded each piece available as flawless Proof-70 Ultra Cameo (PF70UC) condition, a distinction that means these perfectly-graded proofs have ZERO imperfections.

Only 1,500 silver commemoratives were authorized for release and just 175 gold commemoratives have been authorized. Each piece is sealed in a protective display holder with a customized Smithsonian-branded label. The two-piece set is housed in a deluxe wooden presentation case along with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity and a story card on America’s First Gold coinage.