1860 Mormon Half Eagle (1860 Mormon $5) NGC VF20. Despite the circulated grade of this Mormon 1860 Five Dollar Gold Piece, it retains some mint luster, especially at the tops of the lion and the eagle. Wear is evident, but continuing die failure makes the process of grading Mormon gold coinage complicated. The NGC grade for this coin seems justified based on the amount of wear, abrasions marks, and nicks.

As expected the strike is weak because the dies were not hardened properly. The coins obverse depicts a recumbent lion, symbol of power and protection, with the Deseret alphabet inscription Holiness to the Lord surrounding the lion and the date below. The reverse shows a beehive made of straw protected by an eagle. The beehive was a holy symbol of industriousness and a favorite device of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Surrounding the eagle is the inscription DESERET ASSAY OFFICE PURE GOLD with the denomination 5 D. below.

In 1854 the Board of Regents of the University of Deseret, which is now the University of Utah, adopted a phonetic alphabet. At the behest of President Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George D. Watt developed this new phonetic alphabet to help simplify the spelling of English. Among other works, the entire Book of Mormon was published in Deseret in the 1860s. Despite being promoted by Young and used by the Deseret News, the new alphabet did not gain wide acceptance. It fell into disuse after his death in 1877.

One of the richest gold discoveries of during the time of the California Gold Rush was at Mormon Island, downstream from Sutters Mill on the American River. In 1848 Brigham Young decided to create a distinctive coinage for the Mormon Territory. He met with John Kay, who had worked at a private mint in England, to set up a process for smelting oar and coining gold. Young and Kay created the devices and inscriptions for the new coinage. They were engraved by Robert Campbell and Kay.

The first name of the Mormon Territory was the State of Deseret meaning the State of the Honeybee. Beginning in 1849, Mormon gold was minted in a small adobe building in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was actually the home of Dr. William Sharp. Brigham Young initiated the coinage and personally supervised the mint. Most Mormon gold coinage was light in weight and low in fineness. When they reached non-Mormon territories know as Gentile areas, the coins became objects of contempt as much as polygamy was. No doubt both contributed to federal opposition to the Mormons. Considering that most of their coins had a quite low fineness, it is ironic that their church sponsored issues were inscribed PURE GOLD. Because of its substandard weight and fineness, most of the earl Mormon coinage was melted outside Mormon territory. Bankers accepted them with a twenty-five percent discount. To remedy this situation, Young ordered new coins for 1850. They were alloyed with silver and redesigned. However, by that time Mormon coinage had such a poor reputation, the new issues were not accepted and also wound up in the melting pot.

In 1861, Governor Alfred Cumming, a Democrat appointed by President James Buchanan to replace Brigham Young, prohibited the use of Mormon gold despite the fact that the five dollar piece, such as the present coin, is reported to have net weight of one-third gram more gold than the Federal coinage of the time. Cumming served at the governor of the Territory of Utah from 1858 to 1861.

All Mormon gold is rare. The 1860 five dollar piece is estimated to have 30 to 45 pieces know to exist today. In its population report, NGC has certified 27 pieces in all grades.