USA ½ dollar Seated Liberty Half Dollar 1859
USA, New Orleans
Rarity
Common
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# A68 |
| Mintage | 2,834,000 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| diameter | 30.6 mm |
| weight | 12.44 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 year 1859 ended the U. S. Mint's run of very large date punches that began in 1853 and lasted through 1858. As with so many coin oddities, it will likely never be known why this abrupt change was made. This is a high-mintage, fairly common issue that does not elicit much excitement among collectors. Examples are readily available in all circulated grades, and Mint State survivors are only moderately scarce. Even at the gem level (MS-65 and higher) there are a fair number of certified specimens. Unlike the 1859(P) half dollar, this issue is known only with the Type 1 Reverse hub of 1842. A total of 16 die marriages have been identified, and these resulted from various pairings of 12 obverses and 13 reverses. All 1859-O half dollars display 140 reeds on their edges. A minor RPD variety is known (WB-104), along with a couple of MPD varieties. The more appealing of these is VP-001 (WB-102).Read More
