1853 Round 50 Cents. BG-435. Rarity-5-. Arms of California, "Humbert" Eagle. MS-65 (NGC). A beautiful example of what is probably the most recognizable and broadly desired of all California fractional gold coins. Primarily olive-gold in hue with scattered accents of steel-blue throughout. The strike is superior for the issue and the luster and eye appeal is superb. This piece is among the finest known and is tied with just one other at the top of the NGC Census. <p>The distinctive obverse design is attractive for its obvious tie-in to the newly established (as of 1850) Golden State, while the reverse ties it to the larger and more famous numismatic cousins produced under the authority of Augustus Humbert, the United States Assayer at San Francisco. The Arms of California type has been singled out as uniquely desirable for more than a century. According to the Breen-Gillio reference, when the vast collection of Jules Fonrobert was auctioned in 1878, his example of this type was the only one of his 78 different fractional California gold coins to be illustrated in the catalog.