The 1797 draped bust half dollar coin was the final ... In 2015, an MS66-graded coin sold for $822,500, but USA Coin Book indicated a coin in average condition could be worth over $47,000.

In the end, he had to wait until 1797 to receive the official licence to supply coinage for the nation. During the next two years he turned 1,250 tons of copper into nearly 44 million pennies.