1845-D $5 (1845-D Half Eagle) PCGS MS61. This mint state, Southern branch mint 1845-D Half Eagle has a razor-sharp strike and shows bright mint luster in protected areas. Full details are seen on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagles neck, the area to the lower left of the shield, and the lower part of the eagle. The dentils are sharp on both sides. No wear is present, as expected for a mint state coin. The surfaces are original, clean, and, for the grade, free of individual distractions worthy of mention.

Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Head half eagle. His 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 eagle. 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. The mintmark is below the juncture of the arrows and olive branch and above the VE in FIVE.
The discovery of gold in the early 1800s led to the establishment of two of the Southern branch Mints, Charlotte North Carolina and Dahlonega Georgia. In 1835 an act of Congress mandated that these two branch mints would coin only gold. The New Orleans Mint also opened to handle gold from Mexico. In 1838 the first Dahlonega gold coins were made, and they were the Classic Head Half Eagle type. Because of the local alloys high silver content, Dahlonega gold coins often have a green-gold cast. They are also often weakly struck on irregular planchets. Dahlonega coins are eagerly sought by collectors and investors because of their low mintages and rarity. Modern D mint coins should not be confused with Dahlonega coins. Today a coin bearing the D mintmark was minted in Denver, which began production in 1906.

The discovery of gold on Cherokee land in Georgia caused a large group of miners to come to the frontier town of Auraria, which is now Lumpkin County, Georgia. Its name derives from aurum, the Latin word for gold. Soon Dahlonega, which meant yellow money in Cherokee, would become the county seat. The miners need to convert oar and dust into bullion led to the establishment of private coiners, including the Bechtlers and Templeton Reid; however, because of a lack of standardization, there was pressure for a federal coinage to be created. The federal branch mint at Dahlonega was established to meet this need.

The 1845-D half eagle is fairly common in circulated condition, which is unusual for a Dahlonega minted coin. Most of the survivors are heavily cleaned or damaged in some way. Mint state coins are rare. In its population report, PCGS shows 10 1845-D half eagles in MS61 condition with 6 better. The NGC consensus numbers are 8 with 3 better. These numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions.