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June 2002 Issue

By James C. Johnston Jr.
Photos by Steven Vater

          Al C. Overton was in love with early half dollars, and so am I. I guess we see these coins as pure Americana. The obverse features Liberty and the reverse features the American Eagle. Overton wrote a great book on his beloved half dollars called Early Half Dollar Die Varieties: 1794 - 1836.

          That book was written for those collectors who wanted to collect every variety of the coin which is not our purpose. For those who wish to extend their coin type set back to our numismatic beginnings, I will discuss the early coins of our nation. Flowing hair type coins were minted between 1794 and 1795 in denominations which included the half-dime, half-dollar, and dollar. Robert Scot designed this short series which was condemned because Miss Liberty looked like a frowsy woman of the streets - the sort which epitomized the fanatical republican street witches of the French Revolution. They seemed a prototype for Dickens’ Madam De Farge.

                    In 1796, Scot designed a draped bust coin with a more beautiful Miss Liberty. His eagle still looked like a plucked chicken. Scot designed a more robust eagle, generally referred to as the Heraldic Eagle, in 1798. 

                Dimes and quarters were added to the draped bust series in 1796.  The heraldic eagles were added to their reverses in 1798 and 1804 respectively. All of these early coins are scarce and are collectible in almost good condition which means only that there are enough details remaining on the coin to identify it! For those who can afford it, I would suggest collecting them in very fine or better condition.

           In 1807, the Capped Bust coinage was introduced. These coins were designed by John Reich. Liberty wears a Phygrian Cap which in ancient Greece was the symbol of a freed slave. The common women and some of the men of Paris wore these during the French Revolutionary Period as a symbol of their newly gained freedom.

          I will confess that I agree with former prime minister Margaret Thatcher who told the president of France back in 1989 that the French Revolution wasn’t all that wonderful. Thatcher had read Edmund Burke on the subject, and after a bit too much champagne, she said to France’s chief of state, “What have you got to celebrate? (Meaning the Bicentennial of the French Revolution) The French Revolution gave France a mountain of headless corpses and a dictator!”

          The next day, Thatcher was stuck in the back of the Presidential Reviewing Stand during the Bicentennial festivities. But it is a fact that a lot of Americans did not love the new liberty coins. There was a rumor that the model for the coins was in reality Reich’s mistress. The coins were referred to by someritics as Reich’s Whore, but I like them as much as Al Overton did. They have a primitive beauty.

          The capped bust half-dimes were minted from 1829 to 1837, and the capped bust dimes were minted off and on from 1809 to 1828. The design was modified in 1828 with some small changes including a beaded border. Capped bust quarters were minted from 1815 to 1828 in the larger size.

          In 1831 the size was reduced thus creating a new variety for the type set collector. Also, the motto “ E Pluribus Unum” was removed from the reverse.

          The capped bust half dollars are my favorite coin. The “Fat Mistress” types of 1807 and 1808 constitutes the first type. In 1809, a remodeled eagle and more refined portrait were introduced which lasted until 1836. In 1836, a reduced sized coin variety was introduced. Christian Gobrecht further refined Reich’s design and the weight of the coins was reduced, because the older heavier fifty cent pieces actually had more intrinsic value than face value. Many of them were shipped out of the country and melted down for their silver value, which was greater than their face value.

          For those of you with really deep pockets, you can add Robert Scot’s beautiful capped bust gold quarter eagles, half eagles, and eagles to your type set. These beautiful coins were minted between 1795 and 1807. These were followed by John Reich’s cap bust quarter eagles, half eagles and eagles. These were minted, with some changes, between 1808 and 1838. They were replaced in the gold series by Christian Gobrecht’s Coronet type coins which were minted until 1908 with some changes.

  If you want to expand your type set beyond the range of the coins I’ve discussed, I say why not? A type set should  be really flexible. If you want to include some modern coin-age, some colonial coinage, two coins for each type showing the obverse and reverse of each design, commemorative coins, patterns, hard times tokens, Civil War tokens, or anything else, I say go for it. After all, you are supposed to be enjoying yourself. Use twenty pocket vinyl   pages to house your unique type collection and find as  nice a binder as you can afford to hold them.

 James C. Johnston Jr. was born in the historic Oliver Pond House in Franklin, Massachusetts where he has lived for 58 years. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in History and is the author of several books. He has also written more than 1,500 articles and monographs in The Numismatist, Linn’s Stamp News, The Regional Recorder, and other publications.

 Johnston was a teacher in the Franklin system for 34 years and has been associated with Johnston Antiques since 1962. He is a well known appraiser of antiques, books, fine arts, stamps, and coins. He is a founding member of the Massachusetts Suburban Antique Dealers Association, a member of the American Numismatic Association, and the American Philatelic Society. He has also been President of the Franklin Historical Society since 1985.

  Johnston is also a well known lecturer whose topics cover a wide range of social history, antiques, coins, stamps, and the fine arts, as well as, politics and political and military history.