1856-S 50C WB-2 Large S MS(PCGS#800758)

November 2019 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

7240

Grade

XF40

Price

1,200

Lot Description

1856-S Liberty Seated Half Dollar. WB-2. Rarity-4. EF-40 (PCGS). Overall silver gray surfaces, the obverse further adorned with blushes and a streak of warmer golden-rose iridescence. The 1856-S is the second San Francisco Mint half dollar issue, and the first of the No Motto Liberty Seated type without arrows. It is also a low mintage affair with just 211,000 pieces produced. Numismatic interest in mintmarked coinage was essentially nonexistent at the time of delivery, and with demand for circulating coinage remaining high during the later California Gold Rush era, this issue suffered a high rate of attrition in commercial channels. Indeed, survivors are scarce in an absolute sense and quite rare in the finer circulated grades, as here. Provenance: From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. PCGS# 800758. Click here for certification details from PCGS.