1862-S

The 1862-S Liberty Head Half Eagle was struck at the San Francisco Mint during the second year of the Civil War. Only 9,500 pieces were produced, one of the lowest figures San Francisco recorded across the entire Liberty Head series. California gold supply was strong because the state stayed Union-aligned and was geographically removed from Confederate threats, but federal Treasury demand pushed press time toward the larger denominations needed for international settlements. The half eagles that did emerge entered hard commercial use, were shipped out as bullion, or were melted when prices favored it. Doug Winter ranks the 1862-S as the second rarest Civil War-era San Francisco half eagle, behind only the 1864-S.

Authentication begins with the standard specifications. A genuine coin weighs 8.359 grams on a 21.6 mm planchet of 0.900 fine gold and 0.100 copper, with a reeded edge that should show no filing or seam from a repair. The S mintmark sits below the eagle on the reverse, and on a real example the punch is sharp at its serifs and the surrounding fields show no tooling or raised metal that would suggest a mintmark added to a Philadelphia 1862. Inspect the reeding directly opposite the mintmark for any compression, a signal of work done from the rim inward. Strike is generally good for the date, but eye appeal is the real diagnostic since most known examples have been cleaned and original color is unusual.

Survival estimates run roughly forty-five to fifty-five coins across all grades, with fewer than ten properly graded About Uncirculated examples and only two Uncirculated pieces known: a PCGS MS62 in the Hansen Collection and an MS61 that brought $43,700 at American Numismatic Rarities in August 2006. Doug Winter quotes the AU market at $12,500 to $15,000 at the low end, with original problem-free coins commanding strong premiums above that. Even respectable Very Fine and Extremely Fine pieces sell for solid four-figure sums on the rare occasions they appear. For anyone building a date set or a Civil War gold collection, the 1862-S is a defining issue that requires patience and a willingness to accept the cleaning history common to most survivors. For more on the design type, see our Liberty Head Half Eagle series history.