1878 $5 MS(PCGS#8345)

December 2025 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part I

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

22200

Grade

MS64+

Price

5,760

Lot Description

Premium surfaces are exceptionally attractive displaying warm, vivid, golden-rose (obverse) and reddish-apricot (reverse) colors. Both sides are fully lustrous with a sharp strike and an appearance that is smooth enough to suggest full Gem Mint State preservation. Circulation strike half eagle production in the Philadelphia Mint soared to 131,720 pieces in 1878 in anticipation of the return of parity between gold and paper currency set by the federal government for January 1, 1879. Thanks to its relatively generous mintage, this issue is among the most obtainable from its era in lower Mint State grades. Not many grade finer than MS-63, however, and among the handful of finer pieces few are as technically sound and attractive as this amazing near-Gem.