1864 Liberty Head Half Eagle. AU-50 (PCGS). CAC. One of several key date Liberty Head half eagles from the Civil War era, the offering of any circulation strike 1864 represents an important bidding opportunity for the gold specialist. Lovely AU surfaces are predominantly olive-orange in color with even more vivid pinkish-rose highlights ringing the peripheries. Much of the original satin finish remains, and the devices are sharply defined throughout from an obviously well executed strike.<p>As the slightly higher mintage might suggest, the 1864 is not quite as rare in numismatic circles as the 1863. Yet with a mere 4,170 circulation strikes produced, the absolute rarity of this issue is beyond contestation. All Philadelphia Mint half eagles of the 1862 to 1865 era are low mintage rarities, in fact, there being little bullion available for coinage once Eastern banks suspended gold specie payments in late 1861. Whats more, many of the Philadelphia Mint gold coins that were struck during that era were subsequently melted, leaving precious few survivors for todays advanced collectors. The surviving population for the 1864 half eagle is estimated at just 60 to 75 coins (per the experts at <em>PCGS CoinFacts</em>), and with few of those pieces Mint State the astute bidder would be wise to take full advantage of the important and fleeting opportunity that this lot represents.
