1881-S Gold U.S. $5 Liberty Head Half Eagle
Mint: San Francisco
Mintage: 969,000
8.359 g 0.90 gold, 21.6 mm
Coppola Collection

 Designer: Christian Gobrecht

 The half eagle is a United States coin that was authorized by The Act of April 2, 1792. It was the first gold coin minted by the United States, and was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929. The face value of half eagles is $5.

In 1839, the coin got its third major design. The obverse was designed by Christian Gobrecht and is known as the “Liberty Head or “Coronet head.” The reverse design remained largely the same as the previous version. This design was used for nearly 70 years, from 1839 to 1908, with a modest change in 1866, when “In God We Trust” was placed on the reverse above the eagle.