USA ½ dime Liberty Seated Half Dime Legend Obverse 1860
USA, Philadelphia
Rarity
Extremely Rare
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dime |
| Krause number | KM# 91 |
| Mintage | 1,000 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| diameter | 15.5 mm |
| weight | 1.24 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
LIBERTY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Reverse:
Wreath
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
HALF DIME
Introduction of Coins
For 1860 and subsequent years the half dime was revised to include a much bolder wreath on the reverse. To accommodate this change the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA was relocated to the coin's obverse. While the Liberty figure used was that created by R. B. Hughes in 1840, this type is generally credited to James B. Longacre who was then the Mint's Engraver. Though the coin hobby was enjoying a boom in 1860 it's still difficult to imagine the Mint selling all 1,000 of the proofs coined that year. It's likely that some portion of this mintage was either melted or released to circulation as regular coinage. Walter Breen was able to confirm sales of 535 complete silver proof sets, and added to that may be a small number of half dimes sold singly.Read More
