1851 $5 MS(PCGS#8246)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

4536

Grade

MS62

Price

3,360

Lot Description

Here is an attractive and seldom offered premium BU example of this underappreciated No Motto Liberty Head half eagle. Frosty golden-apricot surfaces are boldly to sharply struck in most areas with an impressively smooth appearance. At first glance, the 1851 half eagle should be common given its substantial mintage of 377,505 pieces. As a workhorse denomination, the coins entered commerce, escaping numismatic notice at a time when collectors were not interested in circulation strikes. Most surviving examples are in the higher circulated grade levels, and only seldom in Mint State. Half eagle enthusiasts would do well to take notice, as this is a vastly underrated and often overlooked issue, especially in the finer Uncirculated grades, as here. A hidden treasure in superior preservation.