Reference price
$4,000,000
Mintage: 268
Diameter: 21.6 mm
Weight: 8.36 grams
Designer: Christian Gobrecht
Metal Composition: 90% Gold – 10% Copper
The 1854-S $5 Liberty Head Gold Half Eagle is a rare and valuable US gold coin that holds significant historical importance. Only 268 of these coins were ever produced, and today, only three of them are known to exist. This was also the first year that the $5 Half Eagle coin was produced in San Francisco. The reasons behind the rarity of this coin are not entirely clear; some speculate that the scarcity of the acid used to refine gold in San Francisco at the time played a role. However, this does not explain why the normal number of gold dollars, $10 Eagles, and $20 Eagle coins was produced that same year. Almost all of the 268 coins produced were exported immediately after they went into circulation, leading to their eventual disappearance.
There are three 1854-S half eagle gold coins that are known to exist today. The Boyd coin, which appeared in 1945, was discovered by collector F.C.C. Boyd. The Wolfson coin, found by Texas dealer B. Max Mehl, later ended up being acquired by Samuel W. Wolfson. The final coin, known as the Newcomer coin, was first discovered in 1919 and sold to Waldo C. Newcomer. It has passed through several owners, including B. Max Mehl, who also owned the Wolfson coin at one point, and even King Farouk of Egypt. Eventually, this coin, along with other gold coins, was donated to the Smithsonian Institute by the Josiah K. Lilly Collection as a numismatic item for the museum.
