USA ½ dollar Seated Liberty Half Dollar 1876
USA, San Francisco
Rarity
Common
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# A99 |
| Mintage | 4,528,000 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| thickness | 2 mm |
| diameter | 30.6 mm |
| weight | 12.5 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
Star
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Coat of arms
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
HALF DOL.
IN GOD WE TRUST
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
This year saw the second highest mintage of Seated Liberty Half Dollars from the San Francisco Mint. Examples are common across all grades short of gem Mint State. For the advanced collector there are a few gems, and these are highly sought. Some 1876-S halves were coined from dies having convex faces, which give the coins a concave appearance. This effect was created by basining the dies with a plate having a sharper radius than normal. The number of dies sent to San Francisco for this year's half dollar coinage is not presently known, but 43 die marriages are confirmed with more anticipated after further study. These feature various combinations of 37 obverse dies and 31 reverses. All 1876-S half dollars were coined from one of four known collars. These range from 147 through 150 reeds, inclusive. While there are few collectors of these coins by collar varieties, expert Bill Bugert noted that coins having 149 or 150 reeds are much more elusive than those from the other two collars. Just two mintmark punches appear on 1876-S halves, both being ones that debuted in 1875. The Very Small S is the more common, but the Micro S is not scarce enough to common a premium. The Very Small S dies are divided into those having the old reverse hub of 1866 and ones taken from the new hub which debuted this year. The differences are slight, the most obvious being that the old hub has both buds on the olive branch open, while the new hub has the lower one closed. The Type 2 hub is very rare for this date, with just two reverse dies featuring it.Read More
