1796/5 Half Eagle Leads Heritage U.S. Coins Auction to Nearly $12 Million

Early U.S. gold rarities, an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella and S.S. Central America ingots power strong results in March 26-28 event DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (March 30, 2026) — Heritage Auctions realized $11,948,630 in its March 26-28 U.S. Coins Signature® Auction, led by a 1796/5 BD-1 Half Eagle, MS64 NGC that brought $256,200 and an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, PR65 Cameo NGC that realized $201,300. “The results in this auction reaffirmed the demand among collectors for important coins in the early U.S. gold series,” says Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Imhof. “Collectors of rare U.S. coins, early American gold, classic pattern issues and historic shipwreck relics all were able to bolster their collections with treasures found in this auction. The top lot in the auction was the 1796/5 BD-1 Half Eagle, one of the most important issues in the early U.S. gold series. John W. Dannreuther has suggested a mintage between 1,057 and 2,000 coins, with just 80-100 examples believed to survive in all grades. This example ranks as the finest example ever offered at auction, two full grade points finer than any other example previously offered by Heritage. Close behind was an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, PR65 Cameo NGC that realized $201,300. One of the most iconic and avidly collected odd-denomination issues in all of American numismatics, the stella has long transcended its technical classification as a pattern. Its distinctive four-dollar denomination, elegant design and limited production have made it a perennial prize for collectors of gold coins, patterns, type coins and legendary rarities. Approximately 425 examples of the 1879 Flowing Hair stella were struck between October 1879 and May 1880, reportedly for inclusion in three-coin goloid pattern sets sold to members of Congress. Another key early gold rarity, an 1825 BD-2 Quarter Eagle, MS66 NGC, brought $164,700. Quarter eagles from the 1821-1834 era were low-mintage issues produced only in limited runs when specifically requested by depositors, and the 1825 issue is a notable outlier with three die marriages. Bass-Dannreuther estimates the surviving population of the BD-2 variety at 80-100 coins. This example stands as the second-finest available to collectors and third overall when the Smithsonian proof is included. A 1920-S Indian Head Eagle, MS63 PCGS realized $146,400, confirming the market’s appetite for rare 20th-century U.S. gold. The 1920-S ranks among the rarest Indian Head tens in all grades combined and has long been regarded as the rarest date in the series in Mint State grades of MS63 or finer. With only 126,500 struck and most of the mintage believed to have been melted under the terms of the 1930s Gold Recall, the coin remains one of the great condition rarities of the Indian eagle series. Historic Gold Rush-era bullion from the S.S. Central America also commanded significant attention. An 18.60-ounce Justh & Hunter Gold Ingot, PCGS Genuine, CAGB-356 realized $146,400. Justh & Hunter ingots comprised the second-largest portion of the private assayer gold bars loaded onto the S.S. Central America at Panama, and only a few examples from Mold J&H S.F.-03 were recovered. A Kellogg & Humbert Gold Ingot weighing 26.30 ounces also realized $146,400. This medium-sized ingot, poured into Mold K&H-02, carries one of the higher fineness grades among comparable Kellogg & Humbert pieces recovered from the S.S. Central America, and its serial number is among the highest known for the mold. Another Kellogg & Humbert Gold Ingot, weighing 26.55 ounces, brought $140,300. Of the 343 Kellogg & Humbert ingots recovered during the first salvage expedition, 80 were poured from the KH-02 mold, making these pieces part of the largest single-assayer representation within the famous shipwreck treasure. Among the other standout lots was a 1904 Double Eagle JD-1, High R.4, PR64 Cameo PCGS that achieved $109,800. The Philadelphia Mint struck just 98 proof Liberty double eagles in 1904, and John Dannreuther has estimated that only 50 to 65 survive in all grades. That scarcity helped drive strong bidding for this elusive proof gold issue. The sale also featured another compelling stella result when an 1879 $4 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1635, Pollock-1833, JD-1, R.3, PR50 PCGS realized $94,550. The Flowing Hair stella remains one of the most widely pursued issues in American numismatics, drawing pattern specialists, trophy coin collectors and advanced type buyers alike. Its history, tied to William Wheeler Hubbell’s proposed four-dollar denomination and congressional study of international coinage compatibility, continues to add depth to its appeal. The auction also included several named collections that yielded exceptional results, including The Zeus Collection that was led by an 1895 Dollar PR63 PCGS. VAM-4 that reached $91,500, the Charles Collection that was headlined by a 1915-S Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS62 PCGS that drew 48 bids on its way to $85,400 and a 1915-S Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round MS62 PCGS that approached the same result when it finished at $82,350; The Lester D. Taylor Collection that featured a 1921 Dollar Chapman PR63 NGC that closed at $36,600;Good and The Stoebner Family Collection that included a 1904 Dollar MS66+ PCGS. CAC that achieved $26,840. Results in the auction revealed sustained demand across many high-interest coin series, with Standing Liberty quarters continuing to witness notable strength and popularity, especially for Registry-grade specimens. Advanced collectors drove the 1919-D Quarter Dollar MS66 Full Head PCGS, from The Big Sky Collection of Standing Liberty Quarters, Part I, to $91,500, the highest price ever realized for that exceptional example, while the collection’s other Standing Liberty specimens saw similarly strong results across the board. Also performing exceptionally in the auction was the Walking Liberty half dollar series. Numerous high-end Walking Liberty halves saw competitive bidding from advanced collectors driving top-quality examples to solid results, led by the 1921-D Half Dollar MS65 PCGS. CAC, which realized $46,360, surpassing the result of another piece in the same grade in our recent January 2026 FUN Signature event. This series, one of the most challenging early 20th century sets for collectors to assemble in the top grades, continues to see selective specialists vie for the finest specimens in or near the Condition Census. Complete results can be found at can be found at HA.com/1391. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2 million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Steve Lansdale, Public Relations Specialist 214-409-1699 or SteveL@HA.com