The 1861-C is numismatically significant as the final year of issue for any coin from the Charlotte mint and the only Civil War date from this facility. It isn’t the rarest half eagle from this mint but it is certainly one of the more popular and it has multiple levels of demand shared only by the 1838-C amongst half eagles from Charlotte.

This medium green-gold example shows warm reddish gold color outlining the devices on both the obverse and the reverse. It has the body and luster of an AU50 but there are enough small circulation marks to limit the grade. The naked-eye appearance is excellent with a sense of originality and charm seldom seen on this issue.

There has been just a single PCGS EF45 1861-C half eagle sold at auction since the beginning of 2011 and this coin, ex Heritage 9/13: 6780, realized $9,400 despite having been obviously processed.

This issue is seldom offered for sale in collector grades and even less often in a PCGS holder. A great piece for the Charlotte half eagle specialist or the Civil War collector.