There were no half dimes minted in 1798 or 1799.
In 1800, a new reverse was introduced, this one featuring a large (also
called heraldic) eagle. The eagle was based on the Great Seal of the
United States.
There are five known varieties of the 1800 Draped Bust Large Eagle Half
Dime. The only one that truly carries a separate identity is the LIBEKTY variety, which was caused
by a defective R
punch.
In spite of this oddity, the LIBEKTY variety
does not especially carry a premium value.
By today's standard, a defective tool such as the R punch used to
"spell" LIBEKTY, would not be tolerated. The early Mint had no such
luxury, as resources were scarce. As long as the tool was
semi-functional, the engraver had no choice but to use it.
There is another variety fairly easy to notice. This variety is defined
by a goofy 8 in the date 1800. The 8 was
placed onto
the die by using two small "o" punches, one sitting above the other,
resulting in a rather amateurish appearance.
At least on this variety, the word LIBERTY is spelled correctly!
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