1849-C Half Eagle (1849-C $5) PCGS MS61. This scarce, mint state, Southern branch mint 1849-C Half Eagle has a full strike and excellent, original surfaces. The coin is lustrous in protected areas and is fully detailed especially in the centers of the stars, the highest point of Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and lower part of the shield. The coin shows no wear, as expected for a mint state coin. This coin has outstanding eye-appeal and could have graded several points higher.

Because Engraver William Kneass, suffering from a stroke, was unable to work, Mint Director Robert Patterson asked Assistant Engraver Christian Gobrecht to design a new half eagle that was uniform with the eagle of 1838. He used the coronet motif obverse and the heraldic eagle reverse.

Christian Gobrechts Coronet Heads, No Motto were minted from 1839 to 1866. There were two types of the design, the first with the mint mark on the obverse above the date and the second with the mint mark above the denomination on the reverse. Gobrecht modified the previous designs denomination, 5D. He replaced the numeral with the word FIVE. The design shows Liberty facing left, surrounded by thirteen stars, her hair tied with beads in a bun, wearing a coronet on which is inscribed LIBERTY. She also has two long loose curls, one on the back of her neck and one from behind her ear. The reverse is the heraldic eagle design, which shows the eagle facing left with wings outstretched, holding olive branch and arrows in the correct claws with a union shield attached to its chest. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse with the denomination at the bottom. Dots precede and follow the denomination separating it from the legend. The mintmark is below the eagle above the denomination.

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.

All Charlotte gold coins are scarce. Much of it is rare, and some is extremely rare because of a combination of low mintages and melting overseas. Many coins that were minted before the Civil War were used to purchase armaments abroad. A great deal of this coinage was melted in Europe to make coins of the realm. Only a tiny fraction of the C mint coinage survives today. In its population report, PCGS has certified 6 1849-C half eagles in MS61 with 6 better.