While a substantial number of half eagles were produced in San Francisco in 1887, such was not the case at Philadelphia. As was the norm for the period, the entire Proof mintage of 87 pieces was struck early in the year and sold as in prior years. This was not followed up with even so much as a desultory production run of coins intended for circulation. With almost 390,000 struck the year prior, there is no obvious answer as to why none were produced in 1887. It would seem that sales were sluggish for the few Proof specimens and several appear to have been released into general use, as a not-insignificant proportion of the 40 or so surviving examples are impaired. Long recognized as one of the true rarities of the series, offerings appear infrequently and often a considerable amount of time may pass between sales. The 1887 half eagle attracts attention not only from Proof gold enthusiasts but also from date collectors seeking this classic rarity in the Liberty half eagle series.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the August 2018 Philadelphia ANA Auction, where it realized $144,000.