Values
A bust-left half eagle is John Reich’s half eagle of 1807–1812. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this piece. Do not paste an auction hammer into the grade columns.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The heraldic bust-right half eagle faces the other way. The capped head follows in 1813.
Key Dates
1807 is the change of direction. 1812 is the last year before the capped head. There is no bust-left quarter eagle of these years. The quarter eagle’s bust left is 1808 only.
Errors
Bust right. The older heraldic half eagle faces right.
Capped head of 1813. A different cap, a different page.
Reduced weight of 1834. Classic Head is not this planchet.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
Bust left, 1807 through 1812. The bust-right heraldic coin is the previous page. These are the overdate and the date sizes guides name.
- 1808/7An overdate guides name. A regular 1808 is not this punch.
- 1810 large date and small dateTwo date sizes. Guides name both. This page does not print a count for either.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Capped Bust left half eagles, 1807–1812.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
The chart is empty on purpose. The half eagle article does not print a year-by-year mintage table. A remembered count does not. The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. The weight row is the 1792 standard for a half eagle. No catalog page used here prints a thickness.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | 135 grains standard (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Composition | 11/12 gold, 1/12 alloy (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | John Reich |
No catalog page used for the Capped Bust left half eagle prints a thickness. Diameter and thickness stay Not printed. The weight is the 1792 half-eagle standard. Capped head begins in 1813.
Grading
A bust-left half eagle wears first on the cap and on the cheek.
1807 exists on the heraldic bust-right page too. The direction of the bust is the split.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Bust | Liberty facing left. | Facing right is the heraldic page. |
| Cap | The large cap. | The later capped head is a different cap, from 1813. |
| Date | 1807 through 1812. | 1813 opens the capped head page. |
| Cheek | The cheek and the hair. | Those go flat first. Do not skim them. |
| Heraldic eagle | The eagle on the reverse. | The reverse is part of the grade. Facing left does not change that bird. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a capped bust left half eagle if you already know the type.
- The cap and the cheek are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this capped bust left half eagle are already slick.
- The cap and the cheek are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1810 half eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The cap and the cheek are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the cap and the cheek.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The cap and the cheek are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The cap and the cheek still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the cap and the cheek. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1810 half eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the cap and the cheek.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the cap and the cheek.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the cap and the cheek.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the cap and the cheek.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean capped bust left half eagle for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cap and the cheek.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
In 1807 the half eagle turns around. Liberty faces left, still capped, still on the old 1792 weight. The type runs through 1812. It is not the capped head, which starts the next year and keeps the old weight until 1834. It is not the Classic Head.
The photograph is an 1807 half eagle with Liberty facing left, from the National Numismatic Collection.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
Reich’s left-facing bust replaced Scot’s right-facing bust on the half eagle in 1807. The reverse stays a heraldic eagle. The article does not print the six years of deliveries. They stay off the chart.
Design
Obverse: capped bust facing left. Reverse: heraldic eagle. Five dollars. No mint mark. The direction of the head is the type.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The half eagle article does not print year counts for 1807–1812.
Why is 1807 on two half eagle pages?
Bust right and bust left both exist in 1807. The direction of the head picks the page.
Is this the capped head?
No. The capped head starts in 1813. The cap is larger and the portrait is the next type.
How much is a bust-left half eagle worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this coin. An auction result is not a guide cell.
Collector Considerations
On 1807, look at which way Liberty faces before you choose a page. After 1812, look at the cap. A large capped head is the 1813–1834 page.
A Final Word
The bust-left half eagle page is six years facing left, and an empty chart.
An auction story is not a mintage.