1861 Liberty Head Half Eagle. MS-63+ (PCGS). CAC. A perennially popular type issue from the No Motto portion of the Liberty Head half eagle series, the 1861 is represented here by a premium Choice Uncirculated example. Vivid rose-honey surfaces are fully lustrous with a generally smooth, frosty texture. Sharply struck with plenty of eye appeal. <p>The establishment of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama on February 4, 1861, followed by the bombardment of Fort Sumter during the second week of April, resulted in a sharp increase in gold coinage at the Philadelphia Mint to help fund the Northern war effort. Half eagle production alone that year amounted to 688,084 circulation strikes. Such prodigious output was short lived, however, for a string of early Union defeats on the battlefield resulted in uncertainty over the outcome of the conflict and the suspension of gold specie payments by Northern banks in December. Today the 1861 is popular as a type issue, as above, but in Mint State it is surprisingly scarce relative to the mintage. From the Fairmont Collection-Hendricks Set.
