1863-S $5 (1863-S Half Eagle) NGC AU50. A significant amount of mint luster remains within the devices of this attractive 1863-S Half Eagle. Very slight abrasion and a trace of wear on top of the coronet and on the highest portions of hair are in keeping with the grade of AU50. There is also a trace of wear on the high points of the reverse. The strike is strong on both sides. 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 Liberty Head (No Motto on Reverse) half eagle was minted from 1839 to 1866.

Gobrechts design 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, except for its wing tips, in an arc. The denomination is below, separated with dots, and written as FIVE D.

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. He invented a machine that enabled one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. Because of his excellent job as a bank note engraver, Gobrecht was reluctant to join the Mint staff. In order to persuade him to leave the engraving firm, Mint Director 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. His first work for the United States Mint was in 1826 when he made dies as an assistant to Kneass. Gobrecht 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.

The 1863-S half eagle had an original mintage of 17,000 coins. In its population report NGC has certified 57 in total. In AU50 there are 3 with 28 better. In PCGSs population report there are 5 in AU50 with 8 better.