1860-D $5 (1860-D Half Eagle) NGC AU58. This Southern branch mint 1860-D Half Eagle has significant amounts of bright mint luster on its surfaces and within its devices. While most branch mint coins have weak centers, the center of the obverse of this piece is full and sharp as are the dentils on both sides. There is sufficient separation in the lines of Libertys hair, the coronet, and the eagles feathers to warrant the grade of AU58.

The Liberty Head, No Motto on Reverse half eagle was designed by Christian Gobrecht. It shows a left facing profile of Liberty wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet. Her hair is tied in the back and there are two loose curls that hang down her neck. Around the head are thirteen six-pointed stars, and the date is below the truncation. At the periphery of the coin are dentils. The coin also has a reeded edge. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle similar to the one on the Classic Head eagle. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the eagle in an arc except for its wing tips. The denomination is below, separated with dots, and written as FIVE D. The mintmark, in this case a D for Dahlonega, is between the eagle and the denomination.

The discovery of gold on Cherokee land in Georgia in the early 1800s caused a large group of miners to come to the frontier town of Auraria, which is now Lumpkin County, Georgia. Its name derives from aurum, the Latin word for gold. Soon Dahlonega, which meant yellow money in Cherokee, would become the county seat. The miners need to convert oar and dust into bullion led to the establishment of private coiners, including the Bechtlers and Templeton Reid; however, because of a lack of standardization, there was pressure for a federal coinage to be created. The federal branch mint at Dahlonega was established to meet this need.

All Dahlonega gold is rare and sought after by collectors and investors. The 1860-D half eagle has an original mintage of 14,635. In its population report, NGC has the 1860-D half eagle in AU58 tied for 5th finest with 14 better.