#1 Liberty Head $5 Buyer Las Vegas & Henderson

History

Made with 90% gold, (the remainder being 10% copper for durability), the Liberty Head five dollar gold coin was minted from 1839 until 1908. This five dollar gold piece was minted in the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver, New Orleans, Carson City, Dahlonega and Charlotte mints. In fact, the five dollar gold piece is the only gold coin to be minted in every mint that was ever in operation, (only the recent West Point mint which was created long after the series was discontinued exists now as an exception). The five dollar gold coin is referred to as a “Half Eagle” as a shorthand term for the coin indicating it is half the denomination of an “Eagle” or ten dollar coin. Having been minted for sixty-nine years, the Liberty Head was the longest series of five dollar gold coins ever minted in the United States. As a result, it is a widely popular series among collectors as there are many ways to collect the coin. There are dates, mintmarks from all branch mints as well as many periods of historical significance that can be collected. Like the ten dollar gold piece of this same time period, the minting of this coin spanned several periods of the history of the United States. The half eagle was an important coin seeing use during the California gold rush, the western migration, the civil war, the wild west and the beginnings of the industrial age. Collecting Liberty Head five dollar gold pieces allows the collector to imagine much of the history of the United States in the palm of his or her hand.

The obverse or front of the coin displays a bust of Liberty with her hair pulled back and partially covered by a coronet with the word “Liberty” across the front. Thirteen stars surround Liberty’s head to represent the original thirteen colonies. The reverse of the coin displays an eagle with wings outstretched and a shield on its chest. The eagle is clutching a branch in one talon and arrows in the other. The mintmark is just below the eagle and the denomination of the coin below the mintmark.

Value

There are many factors that determine the value of Liberty Head gold coins. First, there is the gold content. The Liberty Head gold piece was initially 22.5 mm in diameter during the first two years of minting. The diameter changed to 21.6 mm from 1840 until the series ended in 1908. It had a total weight of 8.359 grams. Since they were made with 90% gold, a large aspect of their value is based purely on that gold content. While they have a “five dollar” face value, their intrinsic value is tied to the gold content, which is 0.24187 of a troy ounce. As a result, and regardless of any other factor, they will always be worth an amount equal to their gold weight consistent with the current gold spot price or “melt value”. Other determiners of value include scarcity, variety, mintmark and condition.

Many years of the series in lower grade condition do not carry a premium much above their gold content. Prices for common date coins do not start to exceed their gold content value until you reach almost uncirculated or better condition coins. Many of the branch mint coins, especially the Dahlonega, Charlotte and Carson City minted coins carry a substantial premium. Years with significantly lower mintages are also often quite valuable with prices reaching the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the condition of the coin. The 1876 cc (Carson City) in high mint state sold for over $475,000 in 2012. The 1854 s, of which only two are known, can be worth millions of dollars.

Because there are so many varied opinions on the condition (or grade) of a coin, the values mentioned reflect the highest retail prices that have been obtained for those coins that have been assessed by a third party grading company. Such coins have been authenticated, graded and encapsulated by expert coin grading companies to minimize any doubt as to their authenticity, quality and value and therefore their potential worth.

We Buy Liberty Head Five Dollar Gold Coins

We want to buy your coins and as a business it is our pledge to offer you the best value for your coins, however, always remember that the prices you may find online or in price guides usually represent the highest retail value for the coin in an already certified condition. As a trusted dealer we will have our coin specialists evaluate your coins at no cost and offer you a price that is both fair for you, but that also allows us to realize a reasonable profit.