1848 Liberty Head Half Eagle

About This Coin

The 1848 Liberty Head Half Eagle is a United States Gold Half Eagle from the Liberty Head Half Eagles 1839-1908 series — an early issue, 10th of 70 years in the series. In 1848, coins were struck at the Charlotte, Dahlonega, and Philadelphia Mints with a combined mintage of 372,715. This ranks 37th 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. California Gold Rush bullion began arriving at Philadelphia. The 1848-D has a notable D/D repunched mintmark. Struck in 90% gold, 10% copper, weighing 8.36 grams, 21.65 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Collectors have identified one known die variety for this date (repunched mint mark). Across its variants, estimated values range from $1.4K to $51K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $72K in MS64 grade at Goldberg Auctioneers. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.