1861 50C CSA Restrike MS(PCGS#340402)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3502

Grade

MS66

Price

33,600

Lot Description

184.8 grains. Not only is this a beautiful strike for the type, but it possesses both magnificent eye appeal and unsurpassable quality. Frosty in texture, the surfaces are enhanced by iridescent golden-gray toning that is warmer and more extensive on the obverse (mounted as the reverse in the NGC holder). Virtually pristine for the type, the finest that we can ever recall handling.<p>Seized by Louisiana when that state seceded from the Union in 1861, the New Orleans Mint eventually came under the control of the Confederate States of America, after which Southern authorities made an attempt at coinage that displayed a design distinct to the new Confederacy. Accordingly, four half dollars were struck combining the familiar Liberty Seated motif of Union coinage with a new reverse design that includes, among other elements, the legend CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. All four of these coins, as well as the reverse die, were retained by Chief Coiner of the New Orleans Mint Dr. B.F. Taylor. The die was eventually obtained by E.B. Mason, Jr. of Philadelphia in 1879, and sold to John Walter Scott. Scott and his partner decided to profit from their ownership of the original CSA reverse die by striking and selling a small number of restrikes of the very rare 1861 Confederate half dollar.<p>In order to test the die and determine its suitability for coinage, Scott at first struck 500 tokens using a new obverse die the inscriptions of which provide some information about the original 1861 CSA halves. He then proceeded to prepare the actual restrikes. To do so Scott obtained 500 original 1861-O Liberty Seated half dollars, "drilled off" their reverses and restruck that side using the Confederate reverse die, resulting in loss of detail to the obverse design.<p>As the popularity of the original 1861 Confederate States of America half dollar has increased with understanding of its history and rarity, so too has the desirability of the Scott restrikes increased. Survivors of this 500-piece delivery now represent the only readily obtainable examples of the 1861 CSA half dollar design, and they command a premium in today's market commensurate with their importance as collectibles.