1849 Coronet Liberty Head Type Half Eagle; Designed by Christian Gobrecht; Weight 8.359 grams; 90% gold/10% copper; Diameter 21.6 mm.
Photo (c) Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.
The 1849 Coronet Liberty Head Type Half Eagle
The Half Eagle ($5.00 gold piece) was the very first gold denomination of any type minted by the United States. It was first authorized by Congress in 1792. The specimen above, which comes from a later series minted from 1839 to 1866, features a minor die variety where the "49" of the date is slightly doubled. This example was certified 1849/49 by NGC and graded AU-55. It sold for $1,000.00 in June of 2006.