1861 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1861 Liberty Head $5 half eagle gold coins were made at four different mints, including those in Philadelphia, Charlotte (C), Dahlonega (D), and San Francisco (S). While the Philadelphia mint struck nearly 690,000 half eagles in 1861, the branch mints made these coins in far smaller quantities. Certainly, all 1861 $5 gold coins are now considered scarce, but the branch mint pieces are considered the rarest by far.

What follows is a breakdown of the various mintage figures and values corresponding to the different 1861 $5 gold coin issues:

• 1861, 688,084 minted; $766

• 1861-C, 6,879; $6,000

• 1861-D, 1,597; $25,000

• 1861-S, 18,000; $3,250

• 1861 proof, 66; $35,000

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20 unless otherwise stated.

Typical for 19th-century branch mint pieces, far fewer specimens exist today of those issues than were minted. That’s because many have been melted, though few of these coins were saved to begin with, as most collectors tended to save Philadelphia issues instead of branch mint coins, for whatever reason. In any case, it’s important not to consider mintage figures the equivalent of current-day population numbers – survivors represent a mere fraction of the mintage figures above.

As 1861 half eagles are quite scarce, they are more widely considered numismatic collectibles than gold bullion coins, per se. Indeed, these pieces contain a significant amount of gold, at 0.24187 net ounces of pure gold per coin. However, their price premiums are far higher than most gold investors would want to pay to acquire less than a quarter ounce of the yellow metal.

Collectors would appreciate knowing that 1861 Liberty Head half eagles were designed by Christian Gobrecht. Gobrecht served as the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint and is perhaps most well known for designing 19th-century Seated Liberty silver coinage.