1845 $5 MS(PCGS#8223)

February 2025 Showcase Auction - U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2005

Grade

AU53

Price

1,560

Lot Description

A sharply struck and richly original example with observable mint frost. Dominant olive-gold color with blended honey-orange throughout. The 1845 is one of the highest mintage half eagles from the 1840s with 417,099 circulation strikes produced. Well worn survivors are plentiful by the standards of the early No Motto Liberty Head series, although in original AU grades the 1845 is surprisingly scarce. This is true of virtually all Philadelphia Mint half eagles from the 1840s, as these coins saw active commercial use in an era when there was essentially no numismatic interest in preserving circulation strikes.