1898 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1898 Liberty Head half eagles were made at the Philadelphia and San Francisco (S) mints The San Francisco Mint produced about twice as many $5 gold coins as the Philadelphia Mint, though both coins are available on a roughly equal basis and are well represented at many coin shows and coin shops.

Here’s a look at the mintages and values of 1898 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1898, 633,420 minted; $717

• 1898-S, 1,397,400; $717

• 1898 proof, 75; $12,500

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

Coin collectors should keep in mind that the mintage figures listed above do not equate to modern-day population figures. A substantial number of the coins reflected in the mintages that are listed above have actually been melted down or otherwise were lost to the elements of time. Therefore, just a fraction of the total production is left behind. Yet, there are plenty of 1898 $5 gold coins to meet current coin collector and bullion investor demand.

Christian Gobrecht designed 1898 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.