1856-S Liberty Head Half Eagle. MS-61 (PCGS).
Beautiful golden-rose surfaces with full luster in a soft satin to frosty texture. Striking detail is razor sharp in virtually all areas, and the in hand appearance is uncommonly smooth for both the issue and the assigned grade. A solid Condition Census offering from the earliest days of San Francisco Mint coinage. Due to distrust of paper money, gold coins were the workhorse medium of exchange in the Old West during the immediate pre-Civil War era, as well as during the following decades through the closing of the frontier in 1890. The entirety of the 105,100 mintage of 1856-S half eagles immediately entered circulation with little notice and went to work helping to make a dent in the enormous demand for lower denomination gold coins. And stay there they did -- the half eagle denomination had long been popular in commerce throughout the United States and especially so in California. In all degrees of preservation, the issue is notably scarce: PCGS CoinFacts estimates that 225 examples exist in all grades. Of those, the typically offered grades are VF to low end AU. For the Western Americana specialist, here is an extraordinary opportunity to add a remarkable Mint State survivor of a historic and underappreciated issue.
PCGS# 8270. NGC ID: 25UZ.
PCGS Population: 5; 6 finer (MS-64 finest).
From the Fairmont Collection - JBR Set.