USA ½ dollar Capped Bust Half Dollar 1839
USA, New Orleans
Rarity
Scarce
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 65 |
| Mintage | 178,976 |
| 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
The New Orleans Mint received dies dated 1838 for half dollars, but only a few pieces were coined with them late that year or early the next. These coins were not intended for circulation, and the first general emission was dated 1839. This was itself a fairly small mintage for the period, reference books being in disagreement as to the actual total. Krause Publications and the Dick Graham book use the traditional figure of 178,976 pieces, while the Whitman Red Book gives a total of just 116,000 1839-O half dollars. Both numbers imply a fairly scarce issue, which actual experience confirms. While not rare, this date/mint us almost always found well worn. Mint State survivors are very scarce, and gems are genuinely rare. As with the O-Mint gold coins of 1838-39, the half dollar's mintmark was placed on its obverse above the date. Since the Philadelphia Mint's engraving department had no previous experience with mintmarks before 1838, there was nothing odd about this placement. Nevertheless, all mintmarks were moved to the reverse dies starting in 1840, perhaps to provide greater flexibility in the shipping of obverse dies to the mints needing them. Being undated, reverse dies could be carried over from one year to the next until no longer serviceable. Numismatists have identified three each of obverse and reverse dies for this issue, and these were used in combination to produce five die marriages. The vast majority of 1839-O half dollars were coined with variety GR-1. Of the remaining marriages, GR-2 and GR-3 are extremely rare, while GR-4 and GR-5 are moderately scarce. The general popularity of 1839-O half dollars, with their distinctive obverse mintmarks, has made all examples expensive enough that little interest is shown in the various die varieties.Read More
