1853 Gold Half Dollar - BG-412, Eagle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$13,800 AU55 09-01-2003 Bowers & Merena

Description

The 1853 California Fractional Gold Half Dollar (BG-412) is an octagonal gold piece measuring approximately 13 to 14 millimeters in diameter — roughly the size of a modern dime. Produced during the early California Gold Rush era, this diminutive coin served as genuine small-denomination money in San Francisco and the surrounding mining regions, where the scarcity of federal small coinage created strong demand for locally produced gold pieces. This variety features an eagle design — a motif that appears on a select number of California fractional gold pieces and distinguishes them from the far more common Liberty Head types. The eagle obverse lends these coins a more formal, governmental appearance despite their private manufacture. The octagonal format of this piece departs from the conventional circular planchet shape familiar from regular federal coinage, creating a distinctive eight-sided coin at a dramatically reduced scale. Among the smallest coins produced for genuine circulation in American history, California fractional gold pieces from this era reflect the inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit of Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Multiple jewelers and coiners competed to supply the market with these tiny coins, each using their own die designs and gold alloys. The resulting variety of types, as cataloged in the Breen-Gillio reference, provides a rich field for numismatic study and has sustained collector interest for well over a century.

Rarity Notes

Scarce to rare. First-period California fractional gold coins survive in smaller numbers than their Period Two counterparts, reflecting lower original mintages and the attrition of circulation.

Cross References

BG-412; Breen-Gillio catalog; PCGS #10448; NGC #501412; California Fractional Gold Half Dollar; Octagonal; Period One (1852–1858); Eagle type