1882-S

The San Francisco Mint produced 969,000 Coronet half eagles dated 1882, a robust delivery that placed the western facility second only to Philadelphia in $5 gold output for the year. Coinage at San Francisco during this period was driven less by everyday commerce than by international settlement, since the city served as the principal Pacific gateway for trade with Asia and the South American republics. Half eagles in particular moved through customs houses, banking transfers, and shipping company tills, and a meaningful portion of the 1882-S production was bagged and exported soon after leaving the press. Director Horatio Burchard's annual report noted that San Francisco continued to draw on California and Nevada bullion deposits, with refined gold from the Comstock and Mother Lode districts feeding the facility's steady output.

Authentication of the 1882-S begins with confirming the small, neatly punched S mintmark positioned below the eagle's tail feathers on the reverse. The serif on the S should be sharp and the loops well rounded, since period-correct branch mintmarks were applied with a master punch rather than individually engraved. A genuine piece weighs 8.359 grams and measures 21.6 millimeters across, with the deep warm yellow color of 0.900 fine gold. Counterfeit detection on common-date San Francisco half eagles usually involves spotting added mintmarks rather than wholesale fakes, so examine the field around the S under magnification for tooling marks, raised metal, or a soldered seam. Strike quality at San Francisco in 1882 was generally good, though some examples show light softness on the eagle's right leg.

For collectors today, the 1882-S is one of the more accessible San Francisco half eagles from the Type 2 With Motto run and a practical entry point for a date and mintmark set. Circulated grades through Extremely Fine trade only modestly above melt value, and About Uncirculated examples remain affordable given the coin's age and gold content. Mint State pieces through MS62 surface regularly, while MS63 and MS64 specimens are scarcer but still attainable without the premiums that attach to lower-mintage S-mint dates. True gems at MS65 and above are genuinely difficult, since the issue saw heavy commercial circulation and most surviving examples carry honest wear. For the broader story of the design, see the Liberty Head Half Eagle series history.