An absurdly low 1,270 business strike 1865 half eagles were made and this is one of the true rarities in the whole series with fewer than three dozen known. The majority are in VF and EF grades and I doubt if as many as eight or nine exist in properly graded AU. The finest I have seen is the Milas: 530 coin, graded MS61 by NGC, which brought $18,700 all the way back in May 1995.

This fresh-to-the-market example is one of my absolute favorite purchases from the FUN show. It has wonderful eye appeal for the date and grade with totally original surfaces seen below pleasing orange-gold and light green colors with some deeper coppery splashes near the date.  There is a considerable amount of luster present and this is a blend of frost and semi-prooflike reflectivness. The surfaces are extremely choice for this issue (most are very, very choppy) and the only mark of note is small and located on the jaw line.

The last AU55 1865 half eagle to appear at auction was Heritage 1/07: 5898, graded by NGC, which brought $8,050. A PCGS AU55 hasn’t been offered since October 1999. In all, there are records for four slabbed AU55′s since the end of 1999. Now that’s a rare coin!

This is the nicest business strike 1865 half eagle which I have owned and I feel that this coin is in the Condition Census for the issue. Needless to say, this is an opportunity that will not be repeated anytime soon…

This is the only 1865 half eagle in any grade to have been approved by CAC.