Complete $5 Gold Date Set, Circulation Strikes (1795-1929)

Even though this is only a "Date" set, and normally completable in most series, the $5 Gold set is an exception. Spanning an incredible 134 years and nine different types, the Half Eagle was the most consistently-produced U.S. gold coin, with no coins struck in only a very few years; 1801, 1816-1817, and then after 1916 through 1928. The real challenge with this set is the fact that nearly all of the Half Eagles struck from the 1810s through the mid 1830s were melted, as their gold value exceeded their face value reckoned in silver. Despite fairly healthy mintages during this period, survivors today are very few, and such dates as the 1815, 1822 and 1829 rank among the rarest U.S. circulation strikes in any denomination. With only one 1822 on the numismatic market, this is not a set you will likely complete. But even a set only 80% or 90% complete will place you among the numismatic elites, and is a most worthy undertaking.