1859-C $5 (1859-C Half Eagle) NGC MS61. Bright mint luster highlights the devices of this rare Southern branch mint 1859-C Half Eagle. Except for a couple of coppery spots on the truncation, the coin is clean and free of noticeable defects. The reverse is weak as is always seen on this date, and the coin is graded by the obverse as a consequence.

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 at the Charlotte Mint. Quarter eagles were minted later in 1838 and gold dollars in 1849. However, no coins were made in 1845 because there was a fire, and the entire structure burned to the ground. Its last coinage was in 1861, twenty-four years after it opened. During the Civil War, the Charlotte Mint continued coining gold; however, in October of 1861 the building was converted to a Confederate army hospital and headquarters. During Reconstruction, the building was used for offices by federal troops. In 1867 the mint became an assay office, which remained in operation until 1913. During World War I it was used by the Charlottes Womans Club and as a Red Cross station. In 1936 the site was relocated south of downtown and became the Mint Museum of Art, which was the first art museum in North Carolina.

Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the coins obverse shows the head of Liberty facing left wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY. There are thirteen stars around the head near the border. The date, 1852, is beneath the bust. The reverse features an eagle with outstretched wings and a shield on its breast. In its left talon are three arrows and in its right is an olive branch. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is near the border, and the denomination FIVE D. is below the eagle. The C mintmark is centered between the juncture of the olive branch and arrows and the denomination.

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 NGC shows 8 coins certified in MS61 with only 2 better.