1858-C Half Eagle - 1858-C $5 PCGS AU53. This attractive, Southern branch mint 1858-C Half Eagle has highlights of bright mint luster within the devices on both sides. The coin is well struck with full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. Slight wear is on the highest points of the coin. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no individually identifiable abrasion marks.

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.

Charlotte gold is highly sought after by collectors and investors as well as those interested in collections with a Civil War connection. In its population report, PCGS shows 15 1858-C half eagles in AU53 condition with 53 better.