1807 50C Specimen MS65 PCGS. O-109, unique as a specimen strike....

"John Reich sold himself into indentured service to escape to the USA from the Napoleonic Wars. As early as 1801 his name came to official attention as one of the finest engravers in the country. Opposition from Robert Scot prevented the Mint from hiring him except for occasional odd temporary assignments. But in 1807, Scot's health (for which read failing eyesight) was a source of serious concern to officialdom; accordingly, the Mint hired Reich as assistant engraver at a pittance of $600 per year.
"Reich's first assignment was to create new designs for gold and silver denominations: an insult to Scot. The first ones to benefit from Reich's attention were the denominations most in demand at banks: half dollars and half eagles."

"It is what it is. Sometimes, one encounters a numismatic anomaly and can do no more than simply shrug one's shoulders and say, 'It is what it is.' This may sound simplistic, but if you have encountered such a coin, you know what I am saying. Just such a coin was encountered at the Long Beach show in January/February (2004). I have seen other dates and denominations, but had not examined this particular coin. One-sided Proofs (and Specimens) are the numismatic anomaly to which I am referring. There was a time when I doubted that the Mint would intentionally strike such coins, but there are enough of them around that I became totally convinced that they indeed exist.
"When Adam Eckfeldt became Chief Coiner of the Philadelphia Mint in 1814, he could not have known that he would hold that position for so long. In fact, he was the longest tenured Chief Coiner and he was one of the longest serving Mint employees! He served 25 years in the capacity of Chief Coiner and for over 45 years was a valued member of the Mint personnel (1793-1839). We can thank Mr. Eckfeldt for the many superb examples of our earliest coinage, for just before he retired, he turned over all the 'special' coins he had made and kept. (Some of these coins were produced under the watch of the first Chief Coiner, Henry Voigt, but it appears that Adam Eckfeldt became the 'protector' of these coins when he assumed the Chief Coiner's role in 1814.) These coins formed the entire Mint Collection in 1838, as, before he 'donated' these coins, there was no Mint Collection! Most of these fabulous Specimens and Proofs are still in the Mint Collection, now called the National Numismatic Collection and entrusted to the care of the Smithsonian Institution. Only the items traded for Washingtonia and other numismatic items by Mint Director James Ross Snowden (and possibly some of his predecessors) are missing from the Eckfeldt/Voigt contribution.
"The first coin that made me realize that the Mint intentionally struck one-sided Proofs was the 1829 Large Planchet half eagle in the Bowers and Merena Virgil Brand Part 1 sale in 1983. This coin had been called a one-sided Proof as early as 1885! In the 1907 David S. Wilson sale by S.H. Chapman, the coin was called a Brilliant Proof on the obverse and Uncirculated on the reverse -- it also had been so described in the 1885 J. Colvin Randall sale by William E. Woodward. Messrs. Woodward and Chapman were right, as the obverse planchet was burnished, the obverse die polished, and the coin was obviously specially struck. It also has had careful handling over the years (it has never been in contact with other coins) and is still in pristine condition -- it now resides in the Harry Bass Core Collection that is on loan to the American Numismatic Association. This was the first coin that made me say, 'It is what it is.' I could not understand why it was made as a one-sided Proof, but I did suspect that it was one of the 'traded' coins from the Mint Collection, as the Smithsonian holdings include a superb Proof of the second type of 1829 half eagle (the Small Planchet coin struck in a close collar), but a business strike of the 1829 Large Planchet type.
"As with other probable 'traded' coins from the original Mint collection, it had been replaced by an inferior example. The other coins I suspect of having been 'trade bait' for Washingtonia and other numismatic collectibles are the 1793 Chain and Wreath cents in Specimen, the 1796 Specimen half dollar, and other examples where there are one or two Specimens/Proofs known and the National Collection has circulation strikes, usually of inferior quality.
"Over the years, other one-sided Specimens/Proofs have appeared in the marketplace. There is at least one 1836 one-sided Proof large cent and that coin has been certified as such by PCGS. The late Walter Breen, in his book on Proof coinage, mentions other large cents, half dollars, and other denominations that are reported in this unusual state. Each of these must be examined under today's stricter interpretations of Specimen/Proof striking. Some will hold up, while others will not. However, the one recently examined does qualify as a one-sided Specimen -- this coin also specifically mentioned by Walter Breen in his book on Proof coinage. The coin is a Draped Bust half dollar dated 1807.
"The fact that it was the last year of issue for this type -- and also a year in which the type was changed mid-year -- struck a familiar chord in my numismatic mind, or should I say, heart. The aforementioned 1829 half eagle represented a similar situation with the type changeover possibly the reason for the striking of a special coin. Just like the 1829 half eagle, the 1807 Draped Bust half dollar had the obverse planchet burnished, the obverse die polished, and was specially struck -- possibly on the press used for dollars. It shows evidence of double striking on the obverse and has the sharpest stars of any Draped Bust half dollar seen. In fact one numismatist commented upon seeing this coin, 'Is that real or is it a Gallery Mint Product?' The 1807 half dollar examined shows no evidence of contact with other coins, thus leading to the conclusion that not only was it specially struck, it has been carefully handled by its owners. It is the most spectacular Draped Bust Heraldic Eagle half dollar the author has ever seen! It is what it is.
"Perhaps, it is a stretch to suppose that the 1807 half dollar and the 1829 half eagle exist for similar reasons. There are no Mint records to support this conclusion, but there also are no Mint records of most Proof coinage prior to 1859, when the production figures were first published. The only reason I can imagine to have struck this numismatic caviar would have been to preserve examples of discontinued coin series. Since it would be easier to polish one die and burnish one side of a planchet, perhaps simply time and effort account for their one-sided special striking status. Since the obverse almost always is the important side of the coin, perhaps it was the only side deemed necessary to specially strike. One can only surmise their purpose and marvel at their existence. It is what it is, or perhaps a better saying would be, 'They are what they are.' "