Lot 1152
1856-D $5 Liberty. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ. Recently discovered by a metal detector in the state of Georgia. Pop 10; 2 in 63; 2 in 64. The mate to the preceding MS63 coin and a virtuous bright golden example in its own right. From a mintage for the date of 19,786 pieces, among the lowest Dahlonega half eagle production runs of the era. Typical examples of the date are usually Very Fine or so. The date becomes a notable rarity in Extremely Fine or finer, with Uncirculated examples offered infrequently at best. The connoisseur will appreciate the present piece and will be present and accounted for at the sale, in person or by another form of bidding (of which there are quite a few in the internet and eBay era). The beginning collector may wish to take a giant step forward by acquiring a landmark specimen of this piece early in the game. Regardless, the owner will have a specimen with very few peers (PCGS # 8268) .
The town of Dahlonega, where this $5 gold piece was born, is the seat of Lumpkin County. It lies in north-central Georgia, not far from the modern metropolis of Atlanta. In the beginning in the early 1830s when the mint was established, however, there was no city of Atlanta at all, and there was just barely what could be described as a town at Dahlonega. What prompted the building of a branch of the United States Mint in this sleepy hamlet was the discovery of gold -- vast amounts of gold -- in northeastern Georgia in 1828. The yellow metal had been found in large deposits in parts of North Carolina some years earlier, and these two events led to America's first gold rush during the 1820s and early '30s. In addition to furnishing millions of dollars worth of gold to the young nation, this development also resulted in the expulsion of the native Cherokee people from their ancestral lands by eager treasure seekers.
Estimated Value $12,000 - 14,000.
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| Realized $14,375 |
