1883-S Half Eagle - 1883-S $5 NGC MS63 CAC. This eye-appealing, Western branch mint 1883-S Half Eagle is a premium quality coin with the look of a near-Gem piece. It is tied for the second finest known at NGC and is also tied for the finest known at CAC. For the grade, the coin has clean, original surfaces and is well struck. There are full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. Original, bright mint luster shimmers on both sides of the coin.
 
Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Head or Coronet half eagle. The coin shows Liberty facing left in profile wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet with her hair tied in the back with beads. Two long curls hang down her neck, one in the back and the other on the side. She is surrounded with thirteen six-pointed stars. The date is below the truncation, which shows no drapery. The motif is taken from a Benjamin West painting of Venus. It was also used with modifications for the Large Cents of 1839. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with outstretched wing looking to the left. On its chest is the Union shield. In its talons it holds the olive branch and arrows. Except for the tips of the eagles wings UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse, separated from the denomination FIVE D. by dots. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin, and the edge is reeded. Type 2 was created when the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to a banner designed by James B. Longacre above the eagle in 1866. The change was made in response to pressure organized by the Reverend M.R. Watkinson.

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 because of the need to coin gold resulting from the California Gold Rush. In the West there was an abundance of gold bullion, nuggets and dust; however, there was also an acute shortage of circulating coinage. Congress authorized this mint to relieve the shortage and coin silver and gold and because transportation of bullion to Philadelphia was time consuming and hazardous. Because of its proximity to the Gold Rush area, San Francisco was chosen as the site of the new mint.  In 1874 it moved into a new building called the Old United States Mint or the Granite Lady. It is one of the few structures that survived the earthquake of 1906. It remained in service as a mint until 1938, when the present facility opened
 
In its population report, NGC shows only 1 coin finer than this MS63 1883-S half eagle. As of December 2013, CAC has confirmed 5 at the MS63 grade level with none finer. Less than 3% of all NGC and PCGS certified 1883-S half eagles have been given CAC stickers.