1859-C $5 Liberty Head Half Eagle PCGS AU55 (CAC)

The 1859-C has a similar mintage to the 1857-C and 1858-C. However, it is scarcer overall and more difficult to find in higher grades. This issue is fairly easy to acquire in the lower grades, and becomes scarce in AU50 to AU53 and is rare in the higher About Uncirculated grades. With a mintage of 31,847, this is not an easy coin to acquire in AU55. PCGS has graded 16 as AU55 with 22 finer. In CAC, there are 7 in AU55 with 8 finer.

Jeff Garrett writes, “The 1859-C half eagle is an interesting issue in terms of appearance. All of the known examples of the date have a reverse that is very poorly impressed. It is thought that the reverse die was defective in some way. The 1859-C half eagle can be difficult to grade in many cases, as the obverse is usually sharp. Most of the 1859-C half eagles offered are in the Very Fine to Extremely Fine grade range. Examples of the date in About Uncirculated are scarce but are seen at auction on a regular basis.”

U.S. Mint and Assay Office in Charlotte, NC. The Charlotte Mint was the nation’s first branch mint.