1861-O 50C MS(PCGS#6303)

1861-O 50C MS (PCGS#6303)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Losbeschreibung: A charming piece with soft pearl gray patina that blends with warmer olive and russet hues at the borders. Peripheral detail is a tad weak, largely due to die state, as the strike is well executed with generally sharp detail to the design elements. Luster is smooth and satiny. Through the study of die linkage, Liberty Seated half dollar experts Randy Wiley and Bill Bugert have identified six die pairings of 1861-O half dollars that were produced under authority of the Confederate States of America and not by the state of Louisiana or during the brief time the Union still controlled the New Orleans Mint in early 1861. The most famous of these is W-11, the CSA Die Crack variety. W-15, offered here, is one of the other five Confederate States die pairings, and it shares its reverse, the well-known Speared Olive Bud, with W-14. Only a few other coins were struck by the Confederacy before existing bullion supplies were exhausted, namely limited numbers of gold coins at the recently seized Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans mints, along with a dozen cents (with numerous restrikes) as trials as opposed to a regular issue. Unlike the gold coins, only certain 1861-O half dollars, including the coin offered here, can be positively attributed to the Confederate States of America, and their historic and numismatic significance cannot be overstated.