1887 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1887 Liberty Head half eagles were made at just the Philadelphia and San Francisco (S) mints. However, the Philadelphia mint only produced proof half eagles in 1887, meaning all of that year’s $5 gold business-strike coins came from San Francisco. While only one mint was able to provide a batch of circulating coins, the total number of business strikes approached 2 million, which was a substantial output of $5 gold coins for the San Francisco Mint to strike at the time.

Here’s a look at the mintages and values of 1887 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1887 (proof only), 87 minted; $65,000

• 1887-S, 1,912,000; $781

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

Numismatists and investors should bear in mind that the mintage figures listed above do not in any way reflect the modern-day population figures for these coins. Many 1887 $5 half eagles (especially the 1887-S half eagles) have been melted down or otherwise were lost to the elements of time many years ago. Therefore, only a fraction of the total production is left behind. Still, there are plenty of 1887-S $5 gold coins to meet current coin collector and bullion investor demand.

Christian Gobrecht designed 1887 Liberty Head half eagles, which measure 21.6 millimeters wide and contain 0.24187 ounces of gold. As an interesting aside for numismatists in particular, Gobrecht also designed the silver Seated Liberty coinage that was in production from the late 1830s through the early 1890s.