1856-C Half Eagle (1856-S $5) NGC MS62. Bright mint luster sparkles within the devices of this rare branch mint 1856-C Half Eagle beauty. Very light abrasion keeps this coin from a higher mint state grade. Aside from the weakness on the right dentils on both sides, the strike is sharp and clear. The weakness is typical for the date, which is often seen unevenly struck. The 1856-C half eagle is sometimes seen as a seawater uncirculated coin. This means that salvaged coins show etching as a result of being underwater for some time. However, the present coin shows no sign of having been in a shipwreck.

In 1866 the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the half eagle, creating two types. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the present coin is a Type 1 variety which was first struck in 1839. The coronet motif continued in use until it was replaced by Pratts Indian Head half eagle in 1908.

Christian Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at Mint in Philadelphia. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. After an apprenticeship as a young man, 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. His first work for the United States Mint was in 1826 when he made dies as an assistant to William Kneass. When Kneass was unable to continue working because of a stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work. He was Chief Engraver from 1840 until his death in 1844. In addition to his most famous design, the Seated Liberty dollar obverse, was the Liberty Head motif used on the gold half eagle.

On the obverse a classic head of Liberty in profile faces left. On her head is a coronet that is inscribed LIBERTY. Her hair is pulled back in a loose knot which is tied with beads. Two curls fall down her neck. Thirteen six-pointed stars are in a circular arrangement at the top, and the date is underneath the truncation of the neck. Dentils are around the periphery of both coins. On the reverse a small heraldic eagle grasps an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in the left. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encloses the eagle with the denomination at the bottom, written as FIVE D., and separated by dots underneath the eagle. The mintmark, C, for Charlotte, is under the juncture of the arrow and olive branch and above and to the right of the E in FIVE.

The first gold that was discovered in North Carolina was assayed by private banks and coiners like the Bechtlers and Templeton Reid. However, because of a lack of standardization, and because transportation to Philadelphia was so poor as a result of bandits, unfriendly Indians, and poor roads, the government decided to open a branch mint in Charlotte in 1836. A similar facility was opened in Dahlonega, Georgia. The Charlotte Mint made only gold coins. It was in operation until 1861 when the Confederacy converted it to an army hospital and headquarters. In 1845 no coins were made because of a fire. During Reconstruction, the building was used for offices by federal troops. In 1867 the mint became an assay office, which remained in operation until 1913.

All Charlotte gold coins are scarce. Much of it is rare, and some is extremely rare because of a combination of low mintages and melting overseas. Many coins that were minted before the Civil War were used to purchase armaments abroad. Only a tiny fraction of the C mint coinage survives today.

The 1856-C had an original mintage of 28,457. In its population report NGC shows 138 coins graded in all conditions. In MS62 there is only one other and none better than the present coin.