1861-C Half Eagle - 1861-C $5 NGC AU58. Although it is not known how many, it is known that some of the 1861-C Half Eagle production was made under Confederate authority. This 1861-C Half Eagle which is graded near-Uncirculated shows just a touch of wear on its highest points. The surfaces of this 1861-C Half Eagle are original and clean for the grade with no notable marks worthy of individual description. Subdued mint luster is present in protected areas of both sides of the coin. The strike of this 1861-C Half Eagle is above average for a Civil War issued Southern branch mint coin. More than half of the obverse stars show full details as seen in their center lines. The eagles neck and the area to the lower left of the shield are more detailed than one might expect on a coin of this date and mint.

In April, 1861 Confederate authorities seized the Southern Branch Mints at Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans. All employees had to swear allegiance to the Confederacy. Anyone who refused was fired. One month later, 887 half eagles were struck. These coins can be identified because the dies were rusted and cracked through the tops of the letters AMERI. (The Union issue has a low date and file marks above UNITED and RICA.) At Dahlonega, an unknown quantity of half eagles was struck. Estimates are around 2,400. In 1865, all the gold at Dahlonega was shipped to Charlotte to keep it from the Union army. Later it was shipped to Augusta, Georgia, and then to Abbeville, South Carolina, where it was given to the Southern troops.

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. 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.

All Charlotte Mint coins have the C mintmark on the reverse except for the first two years quarter and half eagles, which had them on the obverse between the truncation and the date.

Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Head half eagle. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle.

Charlotte gold is highly sought after by collectors and investors as well as those interested in collections with a Civil War connection. Only a tiny fraction of the C mint coinage survives today. In its population report, NGC shows 23 1861-C Half Eagles in AU58 condition with 6 better.