Lot 2290
1848-C $5 Liberty. PCGS graded MS-62. A beauty! Well struck with semi-reflective surfaces and lovely greenish golden toning. Likely a early strike by the looks of it, and clearly one of the nicer survivors. The surfaces resplendent with warm gold hue and drenched in sparkling reflective quality. Struck with systematic exactness throughout most of Liberty excepting the usual weak areas in area of the hair bun. The eagle too denotes "quality" on this piece, with only minor striking softness on the neck feathers and around the shield. Desirable, as would be any Mint quality Charlotte-issued half eagle from this exciting decade in American history (PCGS # 8237) .
Even though the mintage of 64,472 pieces seems generous, only a few pieces are believed known in Mint condition of the 1848-C with the vast majority of the 150 or so other coins believed extant today in the Very Fine or Extremely Fine grade range. Pop 1; 1 in MS-64
It should be understood that the color of the Charlotte and Dahlonega gold half eagles was more a function of the minting methodology employed at the facility, than of the raw material from which they were produced. In fact, the Charlotte Mint produced gold coins from a variety of gold sources: naturally-occurring gold (from Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as other states), foreign gold coins, gold bullion, scrap gold, etc., and later, after the California gold discoveries, from bullion deposits brought back by the '49ers.
There is some historical evidence, as well as modern scientific evidence, that the gold coins produced at these two mints had a "high" silver concentration (when compared with gold coins produced at the parent mint in Philadelphia). Although some other regions (such as California) generally had lower purity gold (with a much higher silver concentration than Georgia gold), the lower purity gold had to be refined prior to minting, thus removing most (or perhaps virtually all) of the silver and other trace metals. The resulting gold would then be alloyed with copper and perhaps a small amount of silver. Thus, the resulting gold coins had less silver than their Charlotte and Dahlonega cousins.
Estimated Value $20,000 - 22,000.
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