1861 $5 (1861 Half Eagle) PCGS MS62. Civil War Half Eagle. This Civil War dated 1861 Half Eagle has generous amounts of mint luster within its devices. A couple of small scrapes and nicks keep this coin from a higher mint state grade. The coin is well struck on both sides with all of the details easily observable. The Civil War Half Eagle was issued from 1861 to 1865. The Liberty Head No Motto or Coronet motif was used by its designer, Christian Gobrecht. The coin is the Type 1 Half Eagle because the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added after the War in 1866 (although there is an 1866 No Motto coin from San Francisco because the new dies did not arrive on time.)

Gobrechts design for the Half Eagle 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.