An 1867 $5 gold coin made in San Francisco and forgotten inside a cigar box in a Texas closet has sold at auction for $97,600 (£74,800).
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coin → make → 97,600
The coin, officially known as an 1867-S Liberty Half Eagle, was found during an estate appraisal in Buda, Texas.
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coin → know → Buda
Appraisers discovered a green milk crate hidden in a bedroom closet.
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Appraisers → discover → closet
Inside were two shoeboxes and an old cigar box containing the historic coin and other 19th-century currency.
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shoeboxes → contain → coin
According to auction details published by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, experts from the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) examined the rare gold coin and gave it a Mint State 63 (MS63) grade.
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experts → accord → grade
This confirmed it as the finest-known surviving example of this coin.
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This → confirm → coin
It ranked two full grade points above the next best example.
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It → rank → example
The coin was sold at Heritage Auctions' GACC U.S. Coins Signature event on October 8 and 9, 2026.
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coin → sell → October
It broke the previous auction record of $22,800 for the 1867-S coin.
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It → break → coin
Civil War origins and family inheritance
Family heirs said the coins originally belonged to their great-grandfather, a Union soldier who served during the American Civil War before settling in Columbus, Ohio.
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who → say → Columbus
The gold coin was passed down through several generations before the family moved it to Texas.
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family → pass → Texas
It remained stored in the closet for decades
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It → store → decades
In 1867, the San Francisco Mint produced only 29,000 Liberty Half Eagles.
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Mint → produce → Eagles
Many entered everyday use across the western frontier during the late 19th century.
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Many → enter → century
As a result, very few coins survived in their original mint condition.
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coins → survive → condition
Experts at Heritage Auctions estimate that fewer than 100 examples of the 1867-S $5 gold coin survive today in any condition.
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examples → estimate → condition
Only two confirmed examples are known to remain in uncirculated Mint State condition.
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examples → confirm → condition
The discovery of the coins in Buda changed the known rankings for the condition of 19th-century American gold coins.
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discovery → change → coins
Before the October auction, the highest recorded public sale price for an 1867-S Liberty Half Eagle was $22,800.
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price → record → Eagle
Heritage Auctions set that record in 2021.
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Auctions → set → 2021
The coin's MS63 grade from PCGS attracted strong competition from private collectors and institutional investors, pushing the final price to $97,600.
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grade → attract → 97,600
Todd Imhof, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, explained the importance of the Texas discovery to the wider coin-collecting market.
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Imhof → explain → market
“When the finest certified example of a coin with this much historical significance comes to auction, collectors take notice,” Imhof said in an official press statement released by Heritage Auctions.
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Imhof → certify → Auctions
Imhof added that finding an uncirculated 19th-century gold coin from a regional mint hidden in a home closet is extremely rare for today's appraisers.
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finding → add → appraisers
The 1867-S $5 gold coin was part of a major two-day auction that brought in $19.39 million (£14.8 million) from U.S. coins and currency.
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that → bring → coins
According to official sales reports released by Heritage Auctions, the top item was a 1792 Half Disme graded MS68 PCGS, which sold for a record $2.928 million (£2.24 million).
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which → accord → record
Other notable gold coin sales alongside the Texas discovery included:
- A 1907 Saint-Gaudens High Relief Double Eagle, Flat Rim, graded MS66 PCGS, which sold for $97,600.
- An 1861-O Liberty Double Eagle, AU53 PCGS CAC, made in New Orleans at the start of the Civil War, which sold for $91,500.
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which → include → 91,500
- An 1851 Augustus Humbert Fifty Dollar Gold Piece, AU58 NGC, produced during the California Gold Rush, which sold for $76,250.
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which → produce → 76,250
After the auction, the newly documented 1867-S half eagle became part of a private coin collection.
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eagle → document → collection
This ended its 159-year journey from the San Francisco Mint to a bedroom closet in Texas.
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This → end → Texas
The Aporia
