USA ½ dollar Capped Bust Half Dollar 1838
USA, Philadelphia
Rarity
Common
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 65 |
| Mintage | 3,546,000 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| thickness | 2.1 mm |
| diameter | 30 mm |
| weight | 13.36 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Bird
Coat of arms
Flags
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
HALF DOL.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
For 1838's half dollar coinage, the value was spelled as HALF DOL. in place of the former 50 CENTS. This put it in conformance with the Seated Liberty Half Dime and Dime, as well as the soon-to-be-adopted SL Quarter Dollar. It seems that with minor adjustments to the design this value could have been spelled in full, but awkward abbreviations (by current standards) were a hallmark of the 19th Century. An accompanying increase in the size of the reverse legend aggravated the space limitation. This year's half dollar production was similar to that of the preceding year, but it was still somewhat lower than in the waning years of lettered edge coinage. It may have been that the "Hard Times" of 1837-41 reduced the demand for additional coins. While Mint State survivors are not truly rare, gems are in quite limited supply. The use of 13 obverse dies with a similar number of reverses produced a known total of 16 die marriages. As in 1837, none of these varieties is of interest to anyone but series specialists, and popular catalogs have but a single line devoted to this date. The only rare marriage is Graham/Reiver-5. A bisecting crack formed on this variety's reverse die and likely resulted in its early removal from the press. Dick Graham reported just three examples of GR-5, but the publication of his book may draw out a few more pieces.Read More
