1843 Liberty Head Half Eagle

About This Coin

The 1843 Liberty Head Half Eagle is a United States Gold Half Eagle from the Liberty Head Half Eagles 1839-1908 series — an early issue, 5th of 70 years in the series. In 1843, coins were struck at the Charlotte, Dahlonega, New Orleans, and Philadelphia Mints with a combined mintage of 953,465. This ranks 49th of 70 years by total mintage, above the series median of 360,195. The obverse features Liberty facing left wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY and the reverse displays a heraldic eagle with shield on breast, olive branch and arrows in talons, with a banner reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. High production at New Orleans with over 80,000 struck. Four mints produced half eagles. Struck in 90% gold, 10% copper, weighing 8.36 grams, 21.65 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $1.4K to $38K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $282K in MS65 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.