In 1839 the coin was redesigned again. The new obverse was designed by Christian Gobrecht and is known as the "Liberty Head or "Coronet head". The reverse design remained largely the same, although the value was changed from "5 D." to "FIVE D.".

For those struck at the Philadelphia Mint, there was no longer any silver in the coin - its composition was now .900 gold and .100 copper. However, gold ore used at the southern branch mints of Charlotte and Dahlonega had a high natural silver content, and many of these coins contained up to five percent silver, giving them a distinct so-called "green gold" color.