1861 Liberty Head Half Eagle

About This Coin

The 1861 Liberty Head Half Eagle is a United States Gold Half Eagle from the Liberty Head Half Eagles 1839-1908 series — 23rd of 70 years in the series. In 1861, coins were struck at the Dahlonega, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Charlotte Mints with a combined mintage of 714,626. This ranks 44th 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. Charlotte and Dahlonega mints ceased operations due to the Civil War, ending Southern branch mint gold coinage. Struck in gold, weighing 8.36 grams, 21.65 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $1.4K to $314K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $336K in MS63 grade at Stack's Bowers. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.