1852 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1852 Liberty Head $5 half eagle gold coins were struck at three mints, which include those in Philadelphia, Charlotte (C), and Dahlonega (D). This means there are three basic types of 1852 half eagles, with no significant die varieties attributed to that vintage. While all Liberty Head $5 gold half eagles are considered scarce today, the Charlotte and Dahlonega issues are by far the scarcest.

Here is a look at the mintages and values for 1852 $5 half eagle gold coins:

• 1852, 573,901 minted; $867

• 1852-C, 72,574; $2,000

• 1852-D, 91,584; $2,000

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20.

1852 Liberty Head half eagles were designed by Christian Gobrecht, who also was the designer of the silver Seated Liberty coins from the 19th century. Liberty Head $5 gold coins are considered historic due to their pre-Civil War vintage and the fact that relatively few of them survive today. For this reason, gold bullion investors tend to shy away from buying these old gold coins, which carry a far higher price premium than their intrinsic gold bullion values. For the record, these coins contain 0.24187 net ounces of pure gold and weigh a total of 8.359 grams.