1896 Half Ealge - 1896 $5 PCGS PR64+ DCAM CAC. This outstanding 1896 Proof Half Eagle is the third finest known at PCGS and tied for second finest at CAC.  As expected for a Deep Cameo proof, the coin has bright, satiny devices set against deep mirrored fields, which creates the cameo contrast. Hairlines and contact marks are minimal and can be seen only with magnification. The strike is incredibly sharp, even for a proof coin. The devices pop, with full details on Libertys hair, the stars, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. The CAC sticker indicates that this coin is a premium example that fully merits the grade assigned. The plus sign from PCGS mean that in their opinion the coin has good eye appeal for the grade.

A proof coin is one that is made using a method of manufacture that produces highly polished surfaces and fully struck details of the design. Struck at least twice, they are made for collectors and as presentations pieces. A cameo proof coin is distinguished from a ordinary proof by the way the raised parts of the relief appear to be frosted. The flat areas have a mirror-like appearance, and the devices look satiny or white. A deep cameo proof coin looks black and white. The fields are black because they are highly polished and the devices seem to float on them. Prior to the 1970s, deep cameo proof coins were among the first proof coins struck in the run of proofs. As the dies lost their polish, so the coins became ordinary proofs instead of having high cameo contrast.

Because Engraver William Kneass, suffering from a stroke, was unable to work, Mint Director Robert Patterson asked Assistant Engraver Christian Gobrecht to design a new half eagle that was uniform with the eagle of 1838. He used the coronet motif obverse and the heraldic eagle reverse.

Christian Gobrechts Coronet Heads, No Motto were minted from 1839 to 1866. There were two types of the design, the first with the mint mark on the obverse above the date and the second with the mint mark above the denomination on the reverse. Gobrecht modified the previous designs denomination, 5D. He replaced the numeral with the word FIVE. The design shows Liberty facing left, surrounded by thirteen stars, her hair tied with beads in a bun, wearing a coronet on which is inscribed LIBERTY. She also has two long loose curls, one on the back of her neck and one from behind her ear. The reverse is the heraldic eagle design, which shows the eagle facing left with wings outstretched, holding olive branch and arrows in the correct claws with a union shield attached to its chest. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse with the denomination at the bottom. Dots precede and follow the denomination separating it from the legend.

The coinage act of 1865 specified that motto IN GOD WE TRUST should be added to all coins large enough to accommodate it. The Mint interpreted this law to mean that the motto had to be added to silver coins larger than the dime and gold half eagles, eagles and double eagles. James Longacre, who was now the Engraver, added the motto scroll to the reverse under STATES OF, creating Type 2 of this design.

All Coronet Head half eagle proofs are rare. It is estimated that the Type 1 design had a mintage of approximately 450 while Type 2 had 2,938 struck. In their population reports, both major grading services combined have 121 Type 1 proofs and 1703 Type 2s certified in all grades.
While the Type 1s are extremely rare, the Type 2s are rarer than their number struck might suggest. Many are impaired. Pieces dated from 1880 to 1886 were mishandled at the mint and are often found scratched or nicked. Later many were spent during depression years.

Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis. 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.

With an original mintage of 103 the 1896 proof half eagle is rare in all conditions. Only 25 to 30 are known today. In its population report, PCGS shows only the present coin in PRDC64+ condition. NGC has none at the PRUC64+ level. At CAC, as of March 2013, there are 3 at PRDC64. (CAC does not recognize the plus designation.)