1892 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1892 was a significant year for Liberty Head half eagles because the New Orleans (O) and San Francisco (S) mints once again struck $5 gold coins, in addition to Philadelphia and Carson City (CC) mints, which had the responsibility of striking these coins in the previous year. While the combination of four mints still didn’t produce enough coins to match the output of half eagles during some years of the 1880s, more coins were struck in 1892 than had been made in several years.

Here’s a breakdown of the mintages and values of 1892 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1892, 753,480 minted; $772

• 1892-CC, 82,968; $1,055

• 1892-O, 10,000; $1,800

• 1892-S, 298,400; $772

• 1892 proof, 92; $13,500

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

By far, the Philadelphia Mint struck more half eagles in 1892 than did all three of the branch mints combined. This is not an unusual situation as far as 19th-century coinage is concerned, though it is worth noting that the lower mintages (which in part have led to low current population figures) have put some pricing pressure on the New Orleans and Carson City coins especially.

While Liberty Head half eagles are indeed gold coins, they really are not “bullion” coins and are rather viewed as numismatic collectibles. For the record, 1892 Liberty Head half eagles were designed by Christian Gobrecht and contain 0.24187 ounces of gold.