1839-C $5.00 NGC AU58

After employing the Classic Head design for just one year, the Charlotte mint produced the first of the Gobrecht Liberty Heads in 1839 only. This design is readily identifiable by a different configuration of the portrait and the presence of the mintmark on the obverse. As a date, the 1839-C is only the ninth rarest of twenty-four half eagles from this mint but it is the sixth rarest in high grades. In AU55 and above, this is an extremely scarce coin. The present example shows nice natural green-gold color with some deeper reddish-orange hues at the borders. The strike is bold and there are just a few light abrasions viisble on the surfaces. A small obverse rim nick at 10:00 doesn't detract; a small rim cud below the 18 in the date is as made. An important one-year type that, along with the 1839-D, is one of the few Southern branch mint half eagles that has multiple levels of demand.