Gem
1863 Liberty $5 Gold, No Motto, PCGS PR64 DCAM - $117,000. Click on Coin Image to
enlarge
1863
Liberty $5 Gold No Motto PCGS PR64 DCAM. Civil War Half
Eagle. In its population report of 12-16-2015 this specimen
is the ONLY PR64 Deep Cameo! There's only 1 showing
in 65 and 65+ making this coin a great find. This is
an insanely great Civil War proof gold half eagle that
can satisfy the fussiest of collectors and become quite
an opportunity for the investor of rare gold coins.
Please contact
me by email
or telephone 1-941-291-2156
to reserve this great coin.
Gobrecht’s design
shows a left facing profile of Liberty wearing a LIBERTY
inscribed coronet. Her hair is tied in the back, and
there are two loose curls that hang down her neck. Around
the head are thirteen six-pointed stars, and the date
is below the truncation. At the periphery of the coin
are dentils. The coin also has a reeded edge. The reverse
shows a heraldic eagle similar to the one on the Classic
Head eagle. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
surrounds the eagle, except for its wing tips, in an
arc. The denomination is below, separated with dots,
and written as FIVE D.
Christian Gobrecht was
the third Chief Engraver at Mint in Philadelphia. He
was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father,
a German immigrant was a reverend. His mother, Elizabeth
Sands was a descendent of the early settlers of Plymouth
Colony. In 1818 Gobrecht married Mary Hewes. After an
apprenticeship, he became an engraver of clockworks
in Baltimore. Later, in Philadelphia, he joined a banknote
engraving firm. He invented a machine that enabled one
to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration.
Because of his excellent job as a bank note engraver,
Gobrecht was reluctant to join the Mint staff.
In order to persuade
him to leave the engraving firm, Mint Director Patterson
convinced Chief Engraver William Kneass, incapacitated
by a stroke, to give up a significant part of his salary
so more money would be available to hire the new employee.
His first work for the United States Mint was in 1826
when he made dies as an assistant to Kneass. Gobrecht
was Chief Engraver from 1840 until his death in 1844.
Famous for his Liberty Seated dollar obverse, which
was used for all denominations of silver coinage, he
was responsible for also designing the Liberty Head
motif that was first used on the gold eagle, and then
on the half cent, the cent, and the gold quarter and
half eagles.
