1861-C Half Eagle (1861-C $5) PCGS AU53. Civil War Half Eagle. Mint luster fills the devices of this branch mint Civil War dated 1861-C Half Eagle. There are a few abrasion marks in the fields and a couple of ticks on Libertys cheek, which keep this coin from a mint state grade. The strike is sharp on both sides, with every curl of Libertys hair and every line in the shield visible and complete. The coin is evenly struck, which is unusual for the date. The coin was struck from slightly rotated dies, an error that is not noted on the PCGS holder. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the Coronet half eagle replaces the Classic Heads of William Kneass.

Liberty faces left wearing coronet inscribed with the word LIBERTY. She is surrounded with thirteen stars and the date is below. Her hair is tied with beads in a bun, and two curls hang down, one on the back of her neck and one below her ear. The reverse shows the heraldic eagle facing left with arrows and olive branch in its talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds it. Below is the denomination FIVE D. The mint mark, in this case C for Charlotte, is above FIVE. Gobrecht changed the denomination from the previous issue, which had it written as 5 D. Neither E Pluribus Unum nor In God We Trust is included on coins of this design. After the Civil War, IN GOD WE TRUST was added to a banner above the eagle.

Gold was first discovered on Cherokee Indian land in 1828. The first frontier town was Auraria and Dahlonega was near to it. As many as 1500 miners were in and around Dahlonega at the height of the gold rush. The word dahlonega in Cherokee means yellow money. At that time private coiners, Templeton Reid, the Bechtlers, and others were coining gold. However, this privately minted coinage was not made to a uniform standard. In order to remedy this situation, in 1835 Congress established the branch mints in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia. These mints produced their first coins in 1838. The period of time that the two mints were in operation was Americas first gold rush.

All Charlotte and Dahlonega gold is rare in any condition and eagerly sought by collectors. The 1861-C had an original mintage of 6,879. In its population report PGCS shows a total population for this date of 93 in all grades.