1844-C Half Eagle - 1844-C $5 PCGS XF45 CAC. This scarce, Southern branch mint 1844-C Half Eagle has some remaining mint luster within protected areas on both sides of the coin. Originally well struck, the coin still shows some detail in the centers of some stars, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. The surfaces are original and quite clean for the grade with no significant abrasion marks or other distractions. The CAC sticker tells us that this coin is a premium quality piece and fully merits the assigned grade. 

In the 1790s gold was accidentally discovered in North Carolina. The first United States Gold Rush took place in the early 1800s in North Carolina and Georgia. In the area around Charlotte, North Carolina almost 100 gold mines were in operation. Second only to farming, prospecting for gold became the main source of employment in North Carolina. The most gold produced in the United States came from North Carolina until 1848, when it was discovered in California.

The gold that was produced at Charlotte had to be refined and standardized so it would have commercial value. Private mints like the Bechtlers and Templeton Reids opened to assay the new gold and convert it to coinage. In order to standardize this coinage and because transportation to Philadelphia was so poor as a result of bandits, unfriendly Indians, and poor roads, a branch mint in Charlotte was opened in 1836.

Two years later the first half eagle was struck. Quarter eagles were minted later in 1838 and gold dollars in 1849. However, no coins were made in 1845 because there was a fire in July 1844, and the entire structure burned to the ground.

Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Head half eagle. The design shows a left facing profile of Liberty wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet. Her hair is tied in the back and there are two loose curls that hang down her neck. Around the head are thirteen six-pointed stars, and the date is below the truncation. At the periphery of the coin are dentils. The coin also has a reeded edge. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle similar to the one on the Classic Head half eagle except that the eagle is smaller and its neck is not bent so aggressively. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the eagle, except for its wing tips, in an arc. The denomination is below, separated with dots, and written as FIVE D. Beginning in 1840, the mintmark was moved from the obverse to the reverse between the eagle and the denomination.

In its population report, PCGS shows 16 1844-C Half Eagles certified at the XF45 grade level. At CAC, as of July 2013, there is 1, the present coin, confirmed at XF45 with 6 higher.