Capped Bust Half Dollar

The Capped Bust Half Dollars were minted from 1807 through 1839 with continuous minting of this series with the exception of 1816, the year of the horrendous fire at the Mint.

German-born engraver John Reich was hired for a salary of $600 a year to re-design coinage at the US Mint. Reich came to the United States to escape the Napoleonic Wars. Reich’s redesign was very comprehensive, re-designing every coin the Mint produced.

The Capped Bust half dollar depict Liberty, facing left, with curly hair tucked into a mobcap with a high puffy crown. Liberty is wearing a headband that bears her name and she is surrounded by a circle of thirteen stars with the date below. This likeness is often called “Turban Head”. Reich was accused of basing the rather buxom Liberty on his “fat mistress” though that has never been confirmed.

On the reverse is a naturalistic eagle with a shield on its breast. It clutches an olive branch in the right claw and a bundle of three arrows in his left claw. Above the eagle is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc around the edge.The edge of this coin bears the statement of the coin’s value: “FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR”.