USA ½ dollar Seated Liberty Half Dollar 1860
USA, San Francisco
Rarity
Scarce
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# A68 |
| Mintage | 472,000 |
| 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
This is a scarce issue in all but the lowest grades, and Mint State examples are genuinely rare. Those that do exist fall into the lower range of MS grades, with gems being unknown. Unworn survivors often reveal quite worn dies that are evident by their blurred denticles and rough fields. There are a fair number of harshly cleaned 1860-S halves showing little or no wear. These are traceable to large hoard of 1860-65 half dollars of the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints that reportedly was discovered in Guatemala during the 1950s. This is quite plausible, since many USA silver coins are known to have circulated in both Canada and Latin America during the mid 19th Century, when those areas lacked adequate coinage of their own. A mere two die pairs are known for 1860-S half dollars. One reverse die displays the old Large S of earliest die shipments to the San Francisco Mint, while the second carries the Medium S first used in 1857. Each of these is paired to its own unique obverse for 1860, yet the Large S die was also used for 1859-S halves, while the Medium S die carried over into 1861's half dollar production. A single collar was employed, this having 140 reeds. All dies are of the Type 2 hub, and this remained true for S-Mint half dollars until 1862.Read More
