1846-O Half Eagle - 1846-O $5 NGC MS63. The 1846-O half eagle is a condition rarity. Most are seen in VF or XF condition. Only 11 pieces have been certified in Mint State by both grading services, and the present example is unique in that it is the finest known with none better. The added Eliasberg provenance creates a truly rare, historically important piece that would be the centerpiece of any fine numismatic cabinet.

Here is a Choice Mint State, rare 1846-O Half Eagle that comes with the provenance of the famous Eliasberg Collection and is the finest known at both NGC and PCGS. The coin has light yellow-gold devices that stand against a slightly darker background creating an almost cameo effect. The surfaces are completely original and clean with no notable abrasion marks or other distractions. Just a couple of very tiny, copper spots, mentioned for the sake of accuracy, serve to help identify the coin. The strike is superb with full details on Libertys hair, the centers of the stars, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield.

When Mint Engraver William Kneass was unable to resume his duties after a debilitating stroke, Christian Gobrecht was asked to do his work, which included making a new half eagle that would be uniform with the eagle. The Liberty Head half eagle with no motto was minted from 1839 to 1866.

Gobrechts 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. The mintmark is on the reverse below the eagle and above the denomination.

The New Orleans Mint was authorized in 1835 by President Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans. The bill that Jackson signed also authorized the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega. William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect designed all three branch mint buildings. The New Orleans Mint building was made in the solid, bulky Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the largest of the three branch mints and located at major port of entry. Unfortunately Strickland did not account for the soft ground around the site. Because of it, the building had to undergo numerous repairs throughout its history.

Authorized to produce gold and silver, the New Orleans Mint struck quarter eagles and dimes in 1839. It operated from 1838 to 1909. In that time period 427 million silver and gold coins with the O mintmark were coined. By the mid 1850s denominations made in New Orleans included three-cent silver pieces, half-dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver dollars, gold dollars, quarter eagles, three-dollar pieces, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. The first deposit was of Mexican dollars which amounted to more than 32,400 dollars. The first coins struck were Liberty Seated dimes. Each year between the beginning of August and the end of November, the mint closed because of the annual outbreak of yellow fever.

Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

Louis B. Eliasberg was an American numismatist and financier. In the numismatic community he is best known as the person who put together the only complete collection of United States coins ever assembled. While not quite complete by modern standards because it did not differentiate between proof and circulation strikes, the collection is the most comprehensive of all time. He collected one of every United States date, metal, denomination, and mintmark ever struck as of November 1950, when he completed his collection. In addition to not considering proofs vs. circulation strikes, the collection generally ignored die varieties, which are popular today. Highlights of his collection included a 1913 Liberty Head nickel, an 1873-CC No Arrows dime, and a 1933 double eagle. Since this coin was believed to have been illegally issued, Eliasberg returned the coin to the government voluntarily without compensation. All coins from his collection have additional value because of their special provenance.

Pre Civil War gold from the New Orleans Mint is rare because of low original mintages and low survival rates. The 1846-O half eagle is a condition rarity. Most are seen in VF or XF condition. Only 11 pieces have been certified in Mint State by both grading services, and the present example is unique in that it is the finest known with none better. The added Eliasberg provenance creates a truly rare, historically important piece that would be the centerpiece of any fine numismatic cabinet.