Collecting Four-coin Gold Liberty Sets from the 19th Century
Though all 19th century gold pieces are rare, coin projections really favor those who collect a full set of Liberty Head gold Eagle coins.
The lure of collecting coins is often strongest when collecting towards a particular numismatic goal, such as collecting that prize of rare coin projections, a full, proof- or uncirculated-condition set. One historical prize that almost any collector can at least find some examples to complete a set are the full run of Liberty Head gold Eagles for a given year in all denominations: $10, $5 $2.50 and $1.
Because of the short mintage of the $1 Liberty Head gold coin, the only dates that include all four denominations are in the short, 5-year time frame between 1849-1854. The $1 Liberty coin has the distinction of being the smallest coin ever produced in the United States, with less than 0.05 ounces (1.37g) of pure gold in each one. They were produced in at Philadelphia and Dahlonega in its first year. Subsequent mintings were also performed at the mints in Charlotte, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
The Liberty Head Quarter Eagle was manufactured for 67 years, starting in 1840. It was cast as 90% gold planchets that yielded 0.12 ounce (3.42g) of pure gold. Especially collectible are those produced during these years with gold from the famous 1849 California Gold Rush, bearing the inscription “CAL” on the reverse.
Perhaps the most common coin of the whole series, the Liberty Head Half Eagles were minted from 1839 until 1908 – nearly 70 years! While the designs of the other coins changed during that time, the original James Longacre “coronet” design replaced a series of fat women portrayed as Lady Liberty. Rare coins from this series are found within the 5-year date range of the four-coin Liberty Gold series. Again, several mints produced this coin during the 1849-1854 time period, adding to the collecting potential of what may appear to some to be a simple 4-coin set.
The Liberty Head Eagles feature prominently in rare coin projections because so very few were minted and held publicly. Worth a whopping $10 during the 1850s, these coins represented a tremendous investment, (then and now) for those who buy rare coins. Those minted before 1878 tend to be far more expensive than those minted afterwards.
Gold Liberty Gold Eagle coins and their fractional Eagles are not only beautiful and historical pieces with value far beyond their “melt value,” but they are also ripe for those who enjoy the thrill of the chase when investors purchase rare coins with a clear goal in mind. This is certainly true of the Liberty Head gold coin series from the 19th century. Not only are all gold coins from the “pre-1933” era in high demand due to their scarcity, but collecting an entire set of a chosen year (especially dates from the Civil War when pursuing other types of Liberty Coin collections) can potentially add thousands of dollars to their collective value on the numismatic market.
Other types of sets that can be collected from the Liberty Head Eagles are all the years from a given mint or the very rare post-Civil War proof sets, all of which fetch stupendous sums according to rare coin projections. For example, of the seventy rare gold coins that make up an entire Liberty Half Eagle collection, only a handful of collectors have ever accomplished the feat, taking years in each instance to achieve this feat.
Kenneth Hansen
March 19, 2009
