The coin, a Mint State 63 (MS63) certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service, was unearthed in a closet of a former Ohio family home now in Buda, Texas, during a 2025 estate appraisal. The Buda discovery added the finest known example of the 1867‑S Liberty Half Eagle to the public record, a rarity with fewer than 100 surviving specimens in any condition and only two in uncirculated MS condition.
Heritage Auctions’ GACC U.S. Coins Signature event in Dallas, held Oct. 8‑9, 2026, drew intense bidding from private collectors and institutional investors. Todd Imhof, EVP of Heritage Auctions, noted that the coin’s unprecedented mint state and Civil War heritage ignited a competitive auction, driving the final price to $97,600—over four times the 2021 record of $22,800 set at a prior Heritage sale.
The $97,600 sale eclipsed the highest public price for the 1867‑S and positioned the coin as the most valuable example in any auction setting. The transaction also highlighted the broader trend of 19th‑century gold coins fetching record prices, with the auction’s top item—a 1792 Half Disme graded MS68—selling for $2.928 million.
After the auction, the coin entered a private collection, ending its 159‑year journey from the San Francisco Mint to a Texas bedroom closet. The discovery and sale have prompted numismatic scholars to reassess the condition hierarchy of 19th‑century American gold coins, potentially influencing future grading and valuation standards.
The Buda family, whose great‑grandfather served as a Union soldier, had passed the coin through four generations before it was hidden in a cigar box. The find underscores how overlooked household artifacts can carry extraordinary historical and monetary value.
Heritage Auctions plans a follow‑up event in 2027 to showcase other rare coins uncovered during the Buda appraisal, signaling a continued push for uncovering and monetizing hidden numismatic treasures across the United States.