The 1853 half eagle is common in all circulated grades and only moderately scarce in the lowest Uncirculated grades. It becomes rare in properly graded MS63 (as do all No Motto half eagles) and MS64′s are very rare. I know of two Gems including a PCGS MS66 which sold for $76,375 as Legend 2/14: 329.

This fresh borderline Gem has the naked eye appearance of a full MS65. It is fully struck and frosty with rich natural orange-gold color which shades to pale steel at the obverse border and lemon-gold at the central reverse. Unlike most examples of this date, there are very few raised die striations in the fields. Under a 5x glass, you can see a few small shallow ticks on the obverse and a tiny mint-made flaw at the outer loop of the D in UNITED.

The last PCGS MS64 1853 half eagle to sell at auction brought $14,375 as Superior 5/04: 2448.

An MS65 1853 half eagle, if you could even find one, would sell for at least double the asking price of the MS64+ and probably more. If you have been seeking a high quality No Motto Liberty Head half eagle and you don’t have unlimited funds, consider this example.