1848 Fairmont Collection Coins

The Fairmont Collection of Pre-33 US Gold Coins includes a wide range of dates that stretch from the era of the Mexican-American War of the mid-19th century to the eve of World War I in the early 20th century. There’s a special history behind each of the coins in the Fairmont Collection, as well as the dates in which certain coins were issued.

1848 Liberty Half Eagles

While many recall the California Gold Rush courtesy of the term 49ers, a nod to the year 1849 when the rush hit its peak, the California Gold Rush started a full year later. When the 1848 Liberty Half Eagle in the Fairmont Collection was originally struck by the United States Mint, the California Gold Rush was just getting underway.

This iconic moment in American history eventually saw hundreds of thousands of people migrate westward in hopes of striking it rich. This massive shift in the growth of the United States and the dispersion of its population was all sparked by James Wilson Marshall’s discovery of a few gold flakes along the banks of the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevadas.

The 1848 $5 Liberty Half Eagle struck at the Philadelphia Mint is more than just a coin from the California Gold Rush era, it is also a relatively limited specimen. In 1847, Philadelphia struck more than 915,000 of these coins, but in 1848, it struck just under 261,000 coins.