$5 Liberty Gold Coins NGC/PCGS Certified

It is becoming more and more common to see coin collectors focus on graded (i.e. certified) gold coins when they are building their collections. This is because certified coins offer the ultimate assurance that you are buying gold coins which are authentic and in very high grades.

The half eagle denomination got its name from the fact that the largest gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint in its early years was a $10 gold coin called an Eagle. Hence, the $5 denomination was referred to as a half eagle and contained 0.24187 troy ounce of pure gold. Like other U.S. gold coins, they were struck from .900 fine gold.

A new portrayal of Lady Liberty designed by mint engraver Christian Gobrecht appeared on the half eagle in 1839. Known to numismatists as the "Liberty Head" design, this Greco-Roman style image showed Liberty from the neck up facing to her left. She is surrounded by stars while the date the coin was issued appears below. The edge is reeded.

Gobrecht also created the eagle found on the reverse design. It clasps arrows and an olive branch in its talons while the face value is inscribed at the bottom rim, "FIVE D." Over the course of its seven decades of regular production, the Liberty Gold $5 Half Eagle had several different varieties because of minor alterations made to the design. Nonetheless, Gobrecht's original design remained largely intact from 1839 through 1908.

As is the case with all old coins, collectors place a higher premium on coins that are in a better state of preservation. This is why the third-party graders PCGS and NGC are such an important part of the industry. These services have teams of experts that judge the condition of the coin and assign a grade, but they also will make sure the coin is authentic and hasn't been doctored or altered. This invaluable service provides greater confidence for buyers. Both companies also place graded coins in hard plastic holders for protection from environmental damage or further wearing down of the coin's design features.