1859-C Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter-1, the only known dies. Die State II. AU-50 (PCGS). Bright gold patina pairs well with original satiny surfaces that are uncommonly smooth in hand for a lightly circulated C-mint half eagle. The strike is characteristic of this issue, with the obverse generally sharp but the reverse overall soft with a somewhat "fuzzy" appearance to the eagle. Writing in the 2008 edition of the reference <em>Gold Coins of the Charlotte Mint: 1838-1861</em>, Doug Winter suggests that the reverse die for this issue may have received only one (as opposed to two) impressions from the hub, leaving the detail incomplete. From a mintage of 31,847 pieces, most survivors grade no finer than EF-45, making the present AU-50 a desirable candidate for todays collectors.
