(FoxNews) – An extremely rare 1854 $5 gold coin could sell for millions of
dollars when it is auctioned this month.

The 1854-S half eagle coin was struck in April 1854 one day after the opening
of the San Francisco Mint, according to auction house Stack’s Bowers
Galleries.

“To help deal with the overwhelming amount of gold discovered in California
during the Gold Rush, the United States set up an official government Branch
Mint in San Francisco in April 1854, the first such facility west of the
Mississippi,” it said in a statement.

The coin, which is the first 1854-S half eagle minted, is one of just three
examples known to exist.

“It has been graded AU-58+, far finer than the EF-45 example that brought
$2.16 million in August 2018,” said Stack’s Bowers Galleries in a
statement.

The $5 coin will be auctioned on March 20 in Baltimore.

Harvey G. Stack (left) and his son Lawrence R. Stack.