1855 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

Five different types of 1855 Liberty Head $5 half eagle gold coins were made, including issues from the Philadelphia, Charlotte (C), Dahlonega (D), New Orleans (O), and San Francisco (S) mints. While all 1855 Liberty Head half eagles are considered scarce, the Charlotte and Dahlonega gold issues are among the scarcest 1855 gold half eagles. The 1855-O is also scarcer than the Philadelphia coin. Meanwhile, the 1855-S half eagle about as common as the Philadelphia issue – quite a difference from just one year earlier, when the San Francisco issue of 1854 became one of the rarest U.S. gold coins of all time – just 3 1854-S $5 gold coins are known to exist.

Here is a look at the mintages and values of the 1855 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1855, 117,098 minted; $841

• 1855-C, 39,788; $2,250

• 1855-D, 22,432; $2,000

• 1855-O, 11,100; $1,410

• 1855-S, 61,000; $1,121

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20.

Christian Gobrecht, who designed the silver Seated Liberty coins of the 19th century, was also the designer of the 1855 Liberty Head half eagles. While these coins contain 0.24187 ounces of gold – a significant amount of bullion – 1855 gold half eagles are generally not coins that bullion investors buy. That’s because the historic nature of these coins as well as their overall scarceness contribute to a much higher premium over spot than more recent gold issues.