half eagle

American

noun

a gold coin of the U.S., discontinued in 1929, equal to five dollars.

half eagle British

noun

a former US gold coin worth five dollars

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of half eagle

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The 1854-S half eagle coin was struck in April 1854 one day after the opening of the San Francisco Mint, according to auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

From Fox News • Mar. 6, 2020

The coin, which is the first 1854-S half eagle minted, is one of just three examples known to exist.

From Fox News • Mar. 6, 2020

But that is only half of it; the griffon itself is already half eagle and half lion.

From Time Magazine Archive

Rarest of the lot: an 1854s $5 half eagle, one of three extant, which fetched $16,500 from a buyer.

From Time Magazine Archive

It loved queer beasts, half eagle, half lion, hideous batlike creatures, monsters like nothing on land or sea.

From An Introduction to the History of Western Europe by Robinson, James Harvey

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023