1857 Liberty Head Half Eagle

About This Coin

The 1857 Liberty Head Half Eagle is a United States Gold Half Eagle from the Liberty Head Half Eagles 1839-1908 series — 19th of 70 years in the series. In 1857, coins were struck at the Charlotte, New Orleans, Dahlonega, San Francisco, and Philadelphia Mints with a combined mintage of 333,596. This ranks 34th of 70 years by total mintage, below 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. Multiple mint production continued; the 1857-S is a substantial San Francisco issue. 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 $63K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $576K in PR66CAM grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.