1861 $5 (1861 Half Eagle) NGC MS65*. Civil War Half Eagle. This fully struck, Civil War dated 1861 Half Eagle gleams with full, rich satiny luster. It would be difficult to find a proof coin struck more fully that this piece. The highest points of the hair, the centers of the stars, the eagles neck, the lower left of the shield, and the lower feathers of the eagle are all struck with full details. The coin is graded MS65+ by NGC. Not only is it a gem piece, the + indicates that NGC feels that this coin is at the top end of the grade range because of its premium quality.

When Mint Engraver William Kneass was unable to resume his duties after a debilitating stroke, Christian Gobrecht was asked to do his work, which included making a new half eagle that would be uniform with the eagle. The coin was minted from 1839 to 1866, when the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added making the Type 2 variety.

Gobrechts obverse shows a close profile of Liberty facing left. She is wearing a tiara or coronet inscribed LIBERTY. Her hair is tied in the back with a string of beads, and two curls flow down her neck. She is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars with the date below. Both sides of the coin have dentils at the periphery. The reverse has a heraldic eagle with wings raised up, its head turned to the left. In its talons it holds an olive branch, symbol of peace, and arrows, symbol of preparedness. The required inscription, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA interrupted by the wing tips, surrounds the eagle. The denomination written as FIVE D. is below.

In the 1860s the half eagle was subjected to an unusual form of counterfeiting. Genuine gold coins were sawed in half edgewise and the gold was removed from the interiors. It was replaced by platinum discs of corresponding weight. A new edge was added to hide the change. The coins rang well, and had the proper weight and color. Although many solutions were proposed, the problem resolved itself when the market price of platinum exceeded that of gold. From time to time these altered coins appear. They are valuable today for their bullion content and, for some, as interesting curiosities.

Christian Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at Mint in Philadelphia. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father, a German immigrant was a reverend. His mother, Elizabeth Sands was a descendent of the early settlers of Plymouth Colony. In 1818 Gobrecht married Mary Hewes. After an apprenticeship, he became an engraver of clockworks in Baltimore. Later, in Philadelphia, he joined a banknote engraving firm where he had an excellent job. He invented a machine that enabled one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. Understandably, Gobrecht was reluctant to join the Mint staff and work for less money. In order to persuade him to leave the engraving firm, Mint Director Robert Patterson convinced Chief Engraver William Kneass, incapacitated by a stroke, to give up a significant part of his salary so more money would be available to hire the new employee permanently. Gobrechts first work for the United States Mint was in 1826 when he made dies as an assistant to Kneass. When Kneass was unable to continue working because of the stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work. He was Chief Engraver from 1840 until his death in 1844. Famous for his Liberty Seated dollar obverse, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage, he was responsible for also designing the Liberty Head motif that was first used on the gold eagle, and then on the half cent, the cent, and the gold quarter and half eagles.

With its original mintage of 688,084, the 1861 half eagle is the most common date of the No Motto type. However, despite the fact that NGC has certified over 1400 of this date, there is only one, the present coin, in MS65+ condition with only 2 better. In other words, this piece is what is known as a condition rarity. With current interest in authentic Civil War items, the future looks bright for half eagles of this quality.