1891 Gold $5 Liberty – PCGS MS64

This 1891 $5 Liberty Half Eagle is the definition of buying in before the big jump in price. Graded MS64 by PCGS, this coin represents one of the finest known survivors of its kind.

What makes this opportunity extraordinary is that PCGS has graded none numerically higher—this is the absolute ceiling for the issue at this grading service.

• Population: Just 190 coins graded MS64 at PCGS

• PCGS Price Guide Value: $3,000

• In MS65: Valued at an incredible $12,500—yet zero coins exist in that grade at PCGS!

This is a true value play in the U.S. gold series. With only 190 pieces at this elite grade and none finer, demand is bound to push values higher over time.

Our Price: $2,895

Seize the opportunity to own one of the most desirable Liberty Half Eagles available today—scarcity, condition, and value all aligned in one coin.

The History Behind the 1891 $5 Liberty

The Liberty Head Half Eagle, first introduced in 1839, became one of the longest-running designs in U.S. coinage history. Struck in 90% gold, the $5 Liberty was a workhorse denomination—widely circulated across the expanding nation during the 19th century.

By 1891, America was in the midst of its Gilded Age, a period of industrial growth, westward expansion, and the rise of railroads and banking. Gold coins like this $5 Liberty were not just collector’s items—they were the lifeblood of commerce, trusted in every corner of the country.

The obverse, designed by Christian Gobrecht, features Lady Liberty wearing a coronet inscribed with “LIBERTY,” a symbol of American ideals and strength. The reverse displays a heraldic eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch, representing the nation’s balance of military readiness and peace.

The 1891 issue, struck at the Philadelphia Mint, had no mintmark. Unlike later 20th-century gold coins, many of these pieces were lost to circulation wear or destroyed during the great Gold Melts of the 1930s when the government recalled circulating gold.

Today, finding a coin like this in MS64 condition is exceptionally rare. With just 190 graded by PCGS and none finer, this 1891 Half Eagle is both a historical artifact of 19th-century America and an undervalued rarity in the Liberty Head series.