FLOAT
The Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection specimen of the 1822 Capped Head half eagle, obverse and reverse. The FLOAT constituent is priced on the Pogue-Eliasberg specimen, the only one of the three known in private hands; the Smithsonian holds the other two, one of which is pictured.
National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution

1822 Capped Head Half Eagle

Maker
U.S. Mint (Philadelphia)
Year
1822
Rank
4 of 100

1822 Capped Head Half Eagle

1822 Capped Head Half Eagle by U.S. Mint (Philadelphia) (1822) is ranked 4 in the FLOAT 100 for Coins. It sold for $8,400,000 on 25 March 2021. The most valuable U.S. Mint gold coin ever sold at auction; only three known, two permanently impounded in the Smithsonian.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The most valuable U.S. Mint gold coin ever sold at auction; only three known, two permanently impounded in the Smithsonian.

$5 gold half eagle, PCGS AU50 (Pogue-Eliasberg specimen — only one of three in private hands)

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$8,400,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
25 March 2021

Stack's Bowers Galleries, March 2021 Las Vegas Rarities Night, D. Brent Pogue Collection. PCGS AU50, the only privately-ownable 1822 half eagle, realized $8,400,000.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
Archive
2026-08-08