1859-C $5 (1859-C Half Eagle) PCGS XF40 CAC. This Southern branch mint, half eagle has a strong obverse strike with traces of mint luster remaining within the devices. This piece is authenticated by its always weak reverse strike. The obverse shows full details in the centers of the stars and the hair details above the ear. The grade is justified by the trace of wear seen on top of Libertys head and hair just below the L of LIBERTY. The top part of the coronet also shows a trace of wear, in keeping with the grade. The surfaces are original, clean, and free of individual defects worthy of description. The CAC sticker indicates that the coin is a premium piece and meets stringent standards for quality within the grade.

Christian Gobrechts quarter eagle was produced without substantial modification from 1840 to 1907, the longest span in any United States coinage series. It uses the Coronet design which shows Liberty in profile facing left, her hair tied tightly in beads, except for two curls one down the back of her neck and the other on the side below her ear, with the word LIBERTY inscribed on the coronet. She is surrounded by thirteen stars, and the date is below the truncation. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle facing left holding arrows and olive branch it its talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs around it, interrupted by the wing tips, and the denomination 2 D. is below. The denomination is separated from the legend with dots. The mintmark is below the eagle above the VE in FIVE.

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.

In its population report, as of November 2011, CAC shows 2 1859-C half eagles confirmed in XF40 with 2 better.