1860-D Half Eagle (1860-D $5) NGC AU58. This lovely branch mint gold eagle shows a light hint of greenish color, which is because of the high silver concentration in the ore of the region. Mint luster adheres to Libertys hair and curls. On the reverse, the eagle, arrows, and olive branch are also lustrous. The coin shows just a hint of wear on the high points of the obverse and reverse, in keeping with the grade. The strike is full and sharp on both sides.

We see all of Libertys hair details and all of the horizontal and vertical lines in the shield. The 1860-D is a Gobrecht Coronet Head, No Motto piece. After Mint Engraver William Kneass was incapacitated by a stroke, Christian Gobrecht took over his responsibilities. Robert Patterson, the Mint Director, wanted all the gold coins to have uniform designs, and he directed Gobrecht to design a coin that was a smaller version of the eagle.

In 1828 gold was discovered on Cherokee Indian land. This discovery led to the first gold rush in this country. As many as 1500 miners went to and near Dahlonega, which in Cherokee means yellow money. Templeton Reid, the Bechtlers, and other private coiners were refining ore and striking coins. The problem was that these privately minted coins were not made to a uniform standard. In 1835 Congress established the southern branch mints to alleviate this problem, and in 1838 Charlotte and Dahlonega made their first coins.

All Charlotte and Dahlonega gold is rare in any condition and eagerly sought by collectors. The present coin is scarce in all conditions.