1859 Liberty Head Half Eagle

About This Coin

The 1859 Liberty Head Half Eagle is a United States Gold Half Eagle from the Liberty Head Half Eagles 1839-1908 series — 21st of 70 years in the series. In 1859, coins were struck at the Philadelphia, Charlotte, Dahlonega, and San Francisco Mints with a combined mintage of 82,613. This ranks 18th 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. Philadelphia, Charlotte, Dahlonega, and San Francisco struck half eagles in the final antebellum years. 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 $1.5K to $67K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $144K in MS63 grade at Stack's Bowers. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.