5 Dollars, United States, 1852
date: label: Date made
content: 1852
name: label: mint
content: U.S. Mint, Charlotte
label: designer
content: Gobrecht, Christian
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: One (1) 5 dollar coin
label: Description (Brief)
content: United States, 1852
label: Description (Brief)
content: Obverse Image: Left facing Liberty with hair tied in a bun and wearing a coronet. 13 stars around.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1852
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reverse Image: Eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest with vertical stripes on bottom part and horizontal stripes on top part.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / FIVE D. / C
label: Description
content: The half eagle, or $5 coin, was the first gold coin actually struck for the United States. The $5 gold piece was authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, and the weights and fineness for gold coins were revised with statutes during the 1830s. The occasion for new laws was the discovery of gold in North Carolina and Georgia. Prior to 1830, the scarcity of precious metals was one reason why there was less than one U.S. coin per capita in the United States. Foreign coins, paper bank notes, and privately issued tokens served as money for transactions.
label: Description
content: The development of the newly discovered gold fields was encouraged with a law in 1834 that effectively put the United States on a gold standard. Branch mints in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dahlonega, Georgia were established in 1838 to handle the new gold near the source. Dies were manufactured in Philadelphia and transported to the functioning branch mints in Charlotte (1838-1861) and Dahlonega (1838-1861). Both branch mints handled only gold coins.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: North Carolina, Charlotte
label: country
content: United States
label: city
content: United States: North Carolina, Charlotte
label: province
content: United States: North Carolina
label: political area
content: United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Coins, Currency and Medals
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Hauck, Frederick A.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: NU.NU85579
label: catalog number
content: NU85579
label: accession number
content: 255927
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: gold (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1.4 mm x 21.7 mm; 1/16 in x 27/32 in