While Swedish naval officer Carl August Gosselman could find no gold coins on his visit to the United States, gold coins trickled back into circulation after the signing of the Act of June 28, 1834, and in late summer many notices of them appeared in the popular press. Mintages of gold coins blossomed after the law was changed to reduce their weight, and more than 371,000 half eagles were coined in 1835. The Philadelphia Mint issues of 1834 and 1836 were even larger, producing plenty of $5 gold pieces that saw use in commerce. With exportation no longer profitable, the Classic Head half eagles stayed in the United States and circulated for years. Because of this, well-worn examples of this date are now easily obtained by collectors, but gems are unusually rare.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the D. Brent Pogue Part IV Auction, where it realized $822,500.