1865 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1865 Liberty Head $5 half eagle gold coins were produced at the Philadelphia and San Francisco (S) mints. As many numismatists know, the Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans mints – which historically struck half eagles earlier in the Liberty Head $5 gold coin series – ceased production of federal coinage in 1862 after the start of the Civil War. Therefore, the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints were the only mints producing half eagles at that time. The geopolitical situation severely hampered production of $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins, resulting in the overall scarceness of Civil War-era coinage today.

Here’s a rundown of the mintages and values of 1865 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1865, 1,270 minted; $7,500

• 1865-S, 27,612; $2,750

• 1865 proof, 25; $35,000

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20 unless otherwise stated.

For the most part, mintage figures don’t reflect current population numbers, which are much lower than the mintages listed above may suggest. All 1865 $5 half eagles are considerably scarce and are much more valuable as numismatic coins than gold bullion coins. Still, 1865 half eagles contain a net total of 0.24187 ounces pure gold per coin, a substantial figure indeed.

An interesting footnote for coin collectors is that Christian Gobrecht designed 1865 Liberty Head $5 gold coins. He also designed Seated Liberty silver coinage of the 19th century.