1843-D Half Eagle (1843-D $5) Medium D, NGC AU50. Gold was first discovered on Cherokee Indian land in 1828. Miners flocked first to Auraria, the first frontier town, then to Dahlonega, which was close to it. At the height of the gold rush there were as many as 1500 miners in and near Dahlonega. In Cherokee the word dahlonega means yellow money. At that time private coiners, Templeton Reid, the Bechtlers, and others were coining gold.

However, this privately minted coinage was not made to a uniform standard. In order to remedy this situation, in 1835 Congress established the branch mints in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia. These mints produced their first coins in 1838. The period of time that the two mints were in operation was Americas first gold rush. It was also the period of time before the Civil War. All Charlotte and Dahlonega gold is rare in any condition and eagerly sought by collectors. The present coin is very rare in any grade above XF.