1903 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1903 Liberty Head half eagles were produced at the Philadelphia and San Francisco (S) mints, which produced well more than 2 million $5 gold coins combined. While mintages of the 1903 Liberty Head half eagles were substantially lower than during the production peaks of the 1880s, the 1900s saw strong mintage figures nevertheless during the first decade of the 20th century.

Here’s a look at the mintages and values of 1903 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1903, 226,870 minted; $815

• 1903-S, 1,855,000; $815

• 1903 proof, 154; $12,500

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

1903 Liberty Head half eagles are relatively easy to find at coin shops in coin shows today, though like all pre-1933 U.S. gold coins are scarce. Collectors should bear in mind that 1903 half eagles contain 0.24187 ounces of gold – a substantial amount indeed. While many people like to view these classic $5 gold coins as bullion coins, they are truly numismatic collectibles and should be regarded as such due to their overall scarceness.

These classic gold coins were designed by Christian Gobrecht. He served as the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint and is also well known as the designer of the silver Seated Liberty coinage of the 19th century.