USA ½ dollar Seated Liberty Half Dollar 1839
USA, Philadelphia
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 68 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| diameter | 30.6 mm |
| weight | 13.36 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
Star
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Coat of arms
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
HALF DOL.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
The Seated Liberty design was applied to the various silver coin denominations in stages, the half dollar being the fourth to receive an upgrade. This delay was due both to the heavy demand for halves that didn't allow for any delays in mass production and the fact that another new design had been adopted as recently as 1836. Nearly two million Seated Liberty Half Dollars were coined in 1839, and it appears from the survival rate that those of this first sub-type without drapery at Liberty's elbow formed a minority of that total. Examples are highly prized by collectors as a one-year-only issue, and Mint State survivors are quite rare. Coinage of this brief issue reportedly occurred in August. Bill Bugert's die study of Philadelphia Mint Seated Liberty Half Dollars identified two obverse dies and four reverse dies, one of which was extensively cracked. These were used in four die marriages. The scarcity of this issue as a type alone has precluded any interest in collecting it by die varieties. It should be noted that, in addition to the lack of drapery at Liberty's elbow, this sub-type is distinguished by a much larger protuberance of Liberty's gown to the left of her shield. Historically, this mass has been described as a rock, but in fact it is simply her bunched up gown, as she sits upon a chair that is obscured by her gown in Christian Gobrecht's adopted model of Thomas Sully's obverse design. This chair was plainly evident in Sully's earlier sketches.Read More
