In the Aug. 23 Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction, another scarce Civil War Branch Mint issue with a fantastic original appearance was an 1864-S Coronet gold $5 half eagle graded Extremely Fine 45 by Professional Coin Grading Service and carrying a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker that realized $93,000.

From a mintage of 3,888, even optimistic estimates suggest no more than 35 survive including just one Mint State representative.

Stack’s Bowers writes about the coin in the auction: “Featuring a bold blend of deep honey-orange color and subtle frosty luster, the surfaces are attractively original in preservation. There are no troublesome marks, and the strike is pleasingly bold even with characteristic softness to the top of Liberty’s portrait and the bottom of the eagle.”

Another similarly described example from the Fairmont Collection graded About Uncirculated 58+ by PCGS, also with a green CAC sticker, sold earlier this year in a Stack’s Bowers auction, bringing $264,000.

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