The mintage of 21,200 is a bit misleading as this date was extensively melted and it saw heavy circulation in the booming San Francisco economy of the early 1860’s. Around 50 are known today with most in the VF-EF range. The 1860-S half eagle is very rare in AU and it appears to be unique in Uncirculated with the Bass/Eliasberg PCGS MS62 coin the best that I know of.

This fresh example shows lovely natural deep russet and yellow-gold color. This is one of the few 1860-S half eagles I have seen with natural color as most have been dipped or processed. There is a considerable amount of luster on both sides and the strike is sharp for the issue with bold centers. The surfaces have a few light old marks but none are deep or detracting.

No AU53 examples of this date have sold at auction since Heritage 6/06: 3339 (graded by PCGS) realized $5,031. An NGC AU55 sold cheaply as Heritage 4/14: 6437 (at $6,463) but it was very low end for the grade, in my opinion.

After years of neglect, coins such as this have recently become popular with collectors. I believe many of the San Francisco half eagles remain very undervalued and this 1860-S isa coin with seemingly high upside potential.