Owner Comments:
The 1853-D half eagle is the most common Dahlonega Mint coin and the easiest half eagle to find in high grade. When it comes to Dahlonega Mint coins "high grade" means Choice AU or better. For "ordinary" 19th century gold coins it might mean MS-63 or 64 or better. As such this is often the Dahlonega Mint coin that those who are collecting by type, or those who want one representative coin would choose. Having said all of that, which would make this coin seem kind of ordinary, it does have some interesting aspects.
First there is a good chance that this coin has some California gold in it. After news leaked back East about the California gold strike, many miners who were working in the Dahlonega area decided to try their luck on the West Coast. The gold production in the Dahlonega area mines had been dwindling, and prospects that production was going to improve were not good. Dahlonega Mint assayer, M. F. Stephenson, was disturbed by this, and one night he mounted the steps of the county courthouse, which is now the Gold Museum in the center of town, and cried out with the following plea:
"Why go to California? In that ridge lies more gold than man ever dreamt of. There’s millions in it.”
Since then it has been claimed that this quote was shorten to "There's gold in them thar hills!" A lot of miners did not listen to Stephenson's advice and set out west.
A few years later some of the miners returned to Dahlonega and brought their gold with them. In 1853 the San Francisco Mint was a year away from opening so if the miners wanted to convert their gold into U.S. coins, Dahlonega was a viable option if they were returning home. Therefore in 1853 about 75% of gold that was deposited at the Dahlonega Mint for coinage came from California.
The other thing about this piece is that it is "hammered." This coin is very sharply struck in almost all areas except some of the dentiles on the left side of the reverse. Many Philadelphia coins are not this sharp, and since this piece is a Dahlonega Mint coin, it's fairly remarkable. The grade is MS-63, and that places below the finest known category, but it probably is in the top 10, perhaps a little better. The long line on the left side of the obverse is a die scratch, which is a well known characteristic found on 1853-D half eagles.