No motto half eagles, the final frontier.

Boosibri

Unloved but quite scarce coins in rare gold. How about some love for the Philly $5's

DIMEMAN

Neat coins.....wish I could have met you at CS.

BillJones

This was the first one I bought about 20 years ago. It was raw when I purchased it from a small bid wall auction in Foxboro, Massachusetts.



This is my current highest grade example.

ricko

If it is gold, I love it.... Very nice coins.. Cheers, RickO

291fifth

Some collectors have been trying to generate "love" for these for many, many years but have failed. They are Philadelphia issues and, as such, just don't have the sizzle necessary to set them on fire.

I doubt if that will change.

steveben

here's some hole fillers for ya bb

coinkat

Terrific coins in the neglected frontier...

Not sure why.

Sonorandesertrat

TopographicOceans

But can they be trusted?

ahopewell55

BillJones

I forgot about my 1861 half eagle.

Sunshine Rare Coins

PCGS AU-58 CAC

ranshdow

Not as nice as yours, but a decent example IMO.

Labelman87

...Love all Liberty Head Gold.

keyman64

Not so sure I agree with the unloved part. Maybe not nearly as appreciated as their mint marked counter parts though. The coins the OP posted are AWESOME and I think anyone in their right mind would love to have them.

Regulated

Looking at the number of coins in this thread that haven't been dipped and stripped, I'm struck by the fact that we're all pretty lucky they aren't more popular.

CharlotteDude

CharlotteDude

I do love them, B... I'd just love 'em more if they had a C', a D' or an O' under them eagles.

'dude

Boosibri

<< <i>Looking at the number of coins in this thread that haven't been dipped and stripped, I'm struck by the fact that we're all pretty lucky they aren't more popular. >>



Completely agree with this. I have been trying to buy any off the charts eye appealing examples and hold them tightly. If and when they become more appreciated I'm afraid most will be lost to processing.

Broadstruck

When I sold off my Philly N/M's when I decided to leave coins in February of 2009 and fully concentrate on tokens there was enough love for all to find new homes pretty rapidly.

Never really liked collecting areas that had an abundant amount of love as it lessens the competition.

I always prefer if more love develops as I'm nearly done

messydesk

Boosibri

<< <i>Some collectors have been trying to generate "love" for these for many, many years but have failed. They are Philadelphia issues and, as such, just don't have the sizzle necessary to set them on fire.

I doubt if that will change. >>



I agree and disagree. Philly issues will never be as interesting or likely as collected as their branch mint cousins, no debate. That said, the tougher $20's (1859, 1856, 1855) have appreciated significantly in the last few years, the trend continued into eagles where again tougher issues have done very well. Despite this there are still great values in 1840's $10's. The half eagle series following on the flow of large to small in denomination I think is poised to do well broadly across the series over the coming years. Within that better dates like the 1842 SL & LL, 1849, 1850, 1858, 1859 will do quite well and remain outstanding buys today. Looking at recent APR's this is already occurring though likely only perceptible if you intently follow the series like I do.

The fact that one can acquire a choice AU58 of an issue with about 100 pieces extant (read the 1850) for $2,000-$2,500 seems like outstanding value when a processed mid range AU Dahlonega or Charlotte $5 would bring as much or more despite being many times more common. I love brand mint gold, but I am deepening my appreciation for Philadelphia.

Boosibri

Really nice 43 $5 John. You have a great eye for gold.

GeorgeKellogg

Here are two of my No Motto Half Eagles, struck in a year, rich in American folklore. The first was made in a sleepy little town in North Georgia, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Its name, Dahlonega, is from the Cherokee language and means 'yellow metal.'

The second example is from the 'Mother Mint' and was unearthed by a street construction crew in Jackson, Tennesee, in 1985. The discovery of the 'Jackson, Tennessee Gold Coin Hoard' created quite a stir in the numismatic press. The gold hoard was later traced to a February 1859 robbery of the Union Bank of Tennessee, in Jackson. Although a massive investigation was undertaken in 1859, the gold coins were not recovered -- until their discovery 126 years later. For those wanting to read the whole story, I refer the reader to: Aud, Thomas L. Gold is the Key: Murder, Robbery, and the Gold Rush in Jackson, Tennessee. Dickson, Tennessee: BrayBree Publishing Company LLC, 2012. I have no connection to the author, nor the publisher.

The images are courtesy of BluCC Photos.

BillJones

Yes, the year 1849 would yield some hard times for Dahlonega. The California gold strike would lure away many Dahlonega gold miners despite assayer M.F. Stephenson's paraphrased cry, that "There's gold in them thar hills!" Some of the miners would come back and deposit their California gold at the Dahlonega Mint for coinage. Thus it is distinctly possible that the gold in your 1853-D half eagle came from California and the hills of Georgia.

jmb

My only no motto half eagle from Philadelphia. This image doesn't capture it, but it's prooflike.

boiler78

I picked this one up at Central States last week. With a mintage of 15,136 it seemed like a good value at 20% less than it sold for when Stacks sold the Milas half eagles nearly twenty years ago. Then again that doesn't seem to point to growing collector popularity?

steveben

very cool 49 HE, GK. the story behind it is great.

GeorgeKellogg

<< <i>Yes, the year 1849 would yield some hard times for Dahlonega. The California gold strike would lure away many Dahlonega gold miners despite assayer M.F. Stephenson's paraphrased cry, that "There's gold in them thar hills!" Some of the miners would come back and deposit their California gold at the Dahlonega Mint for coinage. Thus it is distinctly possible that the gold in your 1853-D half eagle came from California and the hills of Georgia. >>



Here is a photo of Matthew Stephenson, who served as the Assayer of the Dahlonega Mint -- from 1850-1854.



Below is a chart that I made, that shows the contribution of the gold from the California gold fields -- that was deposited at the Dahlonega Mint in the early 1850s. After the opening of the San Francisco Mint in 1854, the deposit of California gold at Dahlonega slowed to a trickle.

GeorgeKellogg

In my earlier posts, I forgot to mention that I inherited a set of Philadelphia Half Eagles (dated 1838-1861) from my Dad, which is missing three dates. Dad was working on his Philly Half Eagle set -- that mirrored the dates in my Dahlonega set. I need to finish up his set and have it photographed.

Boosibri

<< <i>In my earlier posts, I forgot to mention that I inherited a set of Philadelphia Half Eagles (dated 1838-1861) from my Dad, which is missing three dates. Dad was working on his Philly Half Eagle set -- that mirrored the dates in my Dahlonega set. I need to finish up his set and have it photographed. >>



Cool! Which dates was he missing?

GeorgeKellogg

<< <i>

<< <i>In my earlier posts, I forgot to mention that I inherited a set of Philadelphia Half Eagles (dated 1838-1861) from my Dad, which is missing three dates. Dad was working on his Philly Half Eagle set -- that mirrored the dates in my Dahlonega set. I need to finish up his set and have it photographed. >>



Cool! Which dates was he missing? >>



He was missing the 1839, 1841, and 1842. There are also several major varieties that he didn't have.

luckybucks

Sweet.

Wahoo554

Reopening this great old thread. Looking back on the above, can we now say that no motto Philly $5’s are finally appreciated? Prices sure have shot up across the board since the pandemic. Is this largely due to the Fairmont hoard or are there other factors at play? Are better dates like the 1850, 1858, 1859 and 1860 still great values or has the market caught up? Has the Fairmont hoard significantly changed the scarcity analysis of certain dates like the 1846 large date and small date, the 1848 and the 1849? Please chime in with your thoughts. Also, please share photos of your Philly $5’s! Here is one of mine:

![](https://us.v-

WAYNEAS

My Bad.
Mine was with motto so I deleted the pics.
Wayne

WillieBoyd2

An early visitor:

United States $5 1846

I won this coin in a coin club raffle in 1964.

Wahoo554

@WillieBoyd2 said:
An early visitor:

United States $5 1846

I won this coin in a coin club raffle in 1964.

Wow, cool story! I wonder what that coin would have sold for in 1964??

PerryHall

@Wahoo554 said:

@WillieBoyd2 said:
An early visitor:

United States $5 1846

I won this coin in a coin club raffle in 1964.

Wow, cool story! I wonder what that coin would have sold for in 1964??

Gold was still $35 per ounce in 1964 so it was probably worth $20 give or take a couple of dollars. I paid $47 for a 1927 double eagle in the mid-1960's that would probably grade MS64 today.

Smudge

Retail price jumped about $1000 right after I bought this one. Not that retail means that much.

Smudge

Here’s a Philly 5

jonruns

@Smudge looks like you've got a C in a thread on Philly coins

Smudge

@jonruns said:
@Smudge looks like you've got a C in a thread on Philly coins

Sorry, I thought it was just no motto thread, however another I like is the 46 small date, maybe some upside there. Price guide has a lot of green in this area so questioning whether there is more upside is prudent. Quarter Eagles show a similar situation.

mirabela

Yeah! I've posted this one on a couple other threads, but it was the only coin I bought this year and in the scheme of my humble collection it's a pretty big deal.

Boosibri

I sold my last no mottos $5’s to @Wahoo554 and @coinlieutenant. I do miss them but what a great series to collect 5yrs ago! My favorite dates remain the 1842’s.

Crypto

The only 5$ I have currently, mostly PL and last mechanical overdate (non-doubled die)

CharlotteDude

This thread needs more Vitamin "C"...

Wahoo554

@Boosibri said:
I sold my last no mottos $5’s to @Wahoo554 and @coinlieutenant. I do miss them but what a great series to collect 5yrs ago! My favorite dates remain the 1842’s.

You had quite a collection and I’m grateful to have a small piece of it. Though not a Philly issue, here’s one of your old 1842 friends.

Wahoo554

And to stay on topic, here’s another 1840 Philly $5 with deep red orange toning and a whole lot of flash for a 53:

SIowhand

I’m not pleased with the recent run up in prices. I too have been snatching these up for a while now and I wasn’t done.

Though, if I had to sell today, it’s one of the few things that I would have worked out well for me.

But alas, I’m too dumb to sell.

Wahoo554

@SIowhand said:
I’m not pleased with the recent run up in prices. I too have been snatching these up for a while now and I wasn’t done.

Though, if I had to sell today, it’s one of the few things that I would have worked out well for me.

But alas, I’m too dumb to sell.

Yes, I’m with you. Part of what was great about Philly $5’s is that they were a great value. Are they still?

Boosibri

@Wahoo554 said:
And to stay on topic, here’s another 1840 Philly $5 with deep red orange toning and a whole lot of flash for a 53:

Great looking coin!