1806 US Coins: Values & Mintages

The Mint in the 1800s

In 1800 the national capital moved to Washington, but the Mint stayed in Philadelphia. Congress renewed it only for a few years at a time and there were serious proposals to close it and contract coinage out. Elias Boudinot served as director until 1805 and the scientist Robert Patterson took over early in 1806, running the Mint for almost two decades.

Large silver and gold coins were being exported or melted rather than circulating, so the silver dollar and the $10 eagle stopped in 1804 and were formally suspended in 1806. The half dime was not struck after 1805 and the quarter stopped after 1807. The Mint concentrated on cents and half dollars, which became the most useful coins for banks. In 1807 the German-born engraver John Reich joined the Mint and introduced the Capped Bust designs.

How many coins were made in 1806

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 1,393,700 coins dated 1806 across 3 issues. That is close to the 1805 total of 1,410,612. In 1807 the figure rose to 2,266,440.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

Those coins held about 364,575 troy ounces of pure silver.

1806 coins by denomination

Cents: 348,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Large Cent, down 63% on 1805.

Quarters: 206,124 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Quarter, up 70% on 1805.

Half Dollars: 839,576 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dollar, up 297% on 1805.

Every 1806 circulation issue at a glance

• 1806 Draped Bust Quarter: 206,124 struck, more than 75% of the series' 5 issues, up from 121,394 in 1805.
• 1806 Draped Bust Large Cent: 348,000 struck, 3rd lowest of 12 in the series, down from 941,116 in 1805.
• 1806 Draped Bust Half Dollar: 839,576 struck, the highest mintage of the series, up from 211,722 in 1805.

Draped Bust Large Cent: Engraving errors, the rare 1804 and peak output

Production surged early in this period, with more than 3.4 million cents in 1802 and over 3.1 million in 1803. Hand punched dies produced a run of memorable mistakes: the 1801 Three Errors reverse shows a 1/000 fraction, a single stem and IINITED for UNITED. Cents of 1802 and 1803 also turn up with the 1/000 fraction. The 1803 has small and large date and fraction combinations collectors pair by die.

The 1804 is a classic rarity. The Mint reported 96,500 cents that year, but many of them were likely dated 1803, so true 1804 cents are scarce. A restrike made outside the Mint from discarded dies around 1860 is a different piece. Altered dates are common, so the 1804 is one cent that should always be authenticated. Output fell to 348,000 in 1806, then recovered in 1807, which brings the 1807/6 overdate and the Comet variety with a die break behind the head. Survivors from these years are often dark brown with some porosity.

Some of the best-known early copper varieties come from hurried die work in these years. The 1801 "3 Errors" reverse shows the fraction as 1/000, a single stem on the wreath and IINITED for UNITED. The 1802 "stemless wreath" and the 1803 reverse with 1/100 over 1/000 are other examples. Mintages passed three million in 1802 and 1803, which makes this the most affordable stretch for collecting Draped Bust cents.

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Draped Bust Quarter: Heraldic eagle quarters

Quarter production resumed in 1804 with a new reverse taken from the dollar and half eagle: a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast, a ribbon reading E PLURIBUS UNUM and a field of stars above. For the first time the value appeared, as 25 C. below the eagle. The 1804 is the key of the type with a mintage of 6,738 and is scarce in every grade.

Output then rose quickly to 121,394 in 1805, 206,124 in 1806 and 220,643 in 1807. The 1806/5 overdate shows traces of a 5 under the last digit. Heraldic eagle quarters are often weak on the stars, the clouds and the shield because high points on the two sides sat opposite each other and the screw press could not fill both. Most survivors are well worn and many show adjustment marks or old cleaning. Quarter coinage then stopped again until 1815.

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Draped Bust Half Dollar: Heraldic eagle halves

Half dollars returned in 1801 with the heraldic eagle reverse. The 1801 (30,289) and 1802 (29,890) are scarce, but output climbed to 188,234 in 1803, which comes with small and large 3 varieties. No halves are dated 1804. The 1805/4 overdate shows that an unused 1804 die was altered and put to work.

The 1806 is the most varied date, with knobbed and pointed 6, an 1806/5 overdate and reverses with or without a stem through the eagle's claw. Mintage reached 839,576 that year. In 1807 the Draped Bust half was struck early in the year before John Reich's Capped Bust design took over. Heraldic halves are the most available early half dollar type, usually seen in Very Good to Fine with weak stars.

Heraldic eagle halves of 1805 to 1807 were struck in much larger numbers than the earlier dates, so they are the most collectible pieces of the type. The 1805/4 overdate and the 1806 varieties with a pointed or knobbed 6 are popular with specialists, who identify die pairs by Overton numbers. Many coins show adjustment marks, fine file lines made at the Mint to bring heavy planchets down to the legal weight, which are not counted as damage.

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