By Susan Blumlein Amodeo
A Flowing Hair half dollar from my Great Grandfathers collection always amazed me. The tattered remains of Lady Liberty and a featherless silhouette of an eagle are some of the characteristics that endear this 230-year-old coin to me. I can’t imagine the many hands it passed through, or the type of purchases made. It makes one think “if only coins could talk.”
The Designer Robert Scot:
Robert Scot was born in 1745 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was trained as an engraver, watchmaker and silversmith in England before coming to the United States in 1775. When Scot was about 30 years old, he immigrated to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1780, under Governor Thomas Jefferson, Scot moved to Richmond (the Capital of Virginia) as an engraver to the Commonwealth. Scot and his family were Free Quakers, a sect that supported the Revolution; therefore his work reflected the ideals of unity, liberty, and rebellion (which were at the core of the American Revolution). During the turbulent times of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783,) Richmond was burned and destroyed by the British. This led Scot to move to Philadelphia in 1781 where he set up a small shop. He started engraving for Robert Morris the Superintendent of the Office of Finance for the United States. His portfolio was large and impressive including engraving books, medals, seals, currency, stamps, and maps.
On November 23, 1793, Scot was commissioned by George Washington to be the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, after the non-commissioned engraver Joseph Wright died from yellow fever that very year. Throughout the years Scot designed many coins, such as the Liberty Cap Half Cent, Draped Bust Half Cent, Draped Bust Large Cent, Matron Head Large Cent, Flowing Hair Half Dime, Draped Bust Half Dime, Draped Bust Dime, Draped Bust Quarter, Flowing Hair Half Dollar, Draped Bust Half Dollar, Flowing Hair Dollar, Draped Bust Dollar, Capped Bust to Right Quarter Eagle, Capped Bust to Right Half Eagle, and Capped Bust to Right Gold Eagle.
PCGS Coin
Flowing Hair Half Dollar Design
Congress’ 1792 Coinage Act (also known as the Mint Act) standardized American coinage. The Act provided a framework for design and production and called for the obverse image to be “Emblematic of Liberty” as well as using the word “LIBERTY” and year. The reverse was to be inscribed with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and have a “Figure or Representation of an Eagle.”
Scot portrayed Liberty as a right-facing youthful female with “flowing hair” to represent freedom. The word LIBERTY appears on top of the coin, while 15 six-pointed stars around represent the number of states in the Union (eight to the left and seven to the right). The date is located at the bottom. The reverse illustrates a small eagle with spread wings perched, surrounded by laurel branches. The border displays the motto “The United States of America.” The edge is inscribed with “Fifty Cents or Half Dollar” with decorative symbols between the words. Interestingly, this was also the first time three different denominations in silver had the same design: the Dollar, Half Dollar, and Half Dime.
Mintage and Varieties
The Coinage Act of 1792 not only regulated coins but created the United States Mint in Philadelphia. The mint produced 23,464 half dollars dated 1794, and 299,680 dated 1795. The obverse was later replaced by the Draped Bust portrait of Liberty; thus, the Flowing Hair half dollar was only minted for 2 years. They weight was 13.48 grams with a 32.5 mm diameter with a thickness of 2.15mm. The composition was 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper, although many sources round up to 90% silver. In fact, it was not until 1836 (a transition year) when dollars and half dollars were 90% silver.
Most of these half dollars were coined from dies having a master bust with a single line to mark Liberty’s portrait. They were then manually struck on adjusted planchets, leading to notable differences in coins weight and thickness. This led to a variety of types with a total of 19 obverse and 22 reverse dies known to have been used in various combinations. This resulted in about 32 die marriages (pairing different obverse and reverse dies together). A few sought after easily noticeable variations include: 2 leaves under each wing; 3 leaves under each wing; combination of 3 leaves under left wing and 2 under the right; die crack varieties, broken stem, recut date, an A over E in STATES; adjustment marks in which planchets were filed to achieve the correct weight; silver plug; and Small Head.
According to NCG, there are 62 documented variations between 1794 and 1795, although there is believed to be many more. Varieties are distinguished by the Overton numbering system. Established in the early 20th century, numismatist A.W. Overton created a comprehensive catalog of die varieties. An example is my coin, a 1795 O-104, due of the recut M in America and the last curl placement on the obverse.
Enduring Denomination
While the Flowing Hair Liberty dollar is well known, especially since the anniversary and special minted rounds in 2024, the half dollar is lesser known and talked about. Only 323,144 silver Flowing Hair half dollars were minted and (unlike the dollar) went right into commercial use. Due to the irregularities in quality of strike, it is not unusual for wear to be uneven, thus high grades are scarce. It is thought that 12% of these coins survived suggesting fewer then 3,000 examples exist today. These coins are sought after by collectors, which means they are highly counterfeited. Collectors beware and use caution, as these coins are valuable and are often thousands of dollars raw (ungraded). I hope through this article to not only share my thoughts, but to educate on the first silver half dollar, a denomination that is still minted today.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A special thank you to Darren Jewru Bartz and Sources: NCG; Coinweek; alchetron.com/Robert-Scot; learnapex.com; Wikipedia; USAcoinbook.com; Numismatic News; DJR Authentication; Greysheet; Stacks Bowers; “A Guidebook of United States Coins (Red Book), PCGS, Numismatic News, Q. David Bowers, Coin Community Family,
This is a wonderful article that beautifully connects our coins to the history of our country. Well done!