1858 Liberty Seated Half Dimes 1837-1873 AU53

History

Seated Liberty half dimes ran from 1837 to 1873, and the 1858 Philadelphia coinage falls late in the stars-obverse portion of that run. Output that year was heavy enough that PCGS ranks the date among the most common in the entire series. The contrast with what followed is sharp: Philadelphia struck only 340,000 half dimes in 1859, less than a tenth of the previous year's production. The design itself originated with Christian Gobrecht, and the working hubs in use by 1858 reflected a later modification of that work.

Details

PCGS catalogs the issue as number 4367 and credits the design to Robert Ball Hughes and Christian Gobrecht, Gobrecht for the original conception and Hughes for the modification in use at this date. The coins were struck in the standard silver alloy of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper, at 15.90 mm in diameter and 1.24 grams, with a reeded edge. All business strikes of this date came from the Philadelphia Mint, which also produced proofs of the denomination during these years.

Features

Two date-punching varieties account for most of the collector attention paid to the 1858 Philadelphia half dime. The 1858 Over Inverted Date, PCGS number 4368, resulted when the engraver entered the date into the die upside-down and then corrected it, leaving the inverted undertype plainly visible even on circulated examples; PCGS calls it very scarce and reports that fewer than 10 percent of certified 1858 half dimes show it. The second variety has the date punched too high in the field between the base and the denticles, then repunched, with the earlier impression again imperfectly effaced. Both carry a significant premium over a normal 1858, and unattributed pieces still turn up in raw coins and older holders, which makes realized prices for the date uneven.

Notable facts

• The PCGS Condition Census for the 1858 half dime consists entirely of MS67 and finer coins, topped by a single MS68.
• Designer attribution for the half dime shifts in the following years, with PCGS listing Anthony C. Paquet and Christian Gobrecht for 1859 and James Barton Longacre for 1868.
• Proof half dimes of the period were struck in small numbers, with PCGS listing 70 pieces for 1857 and 800 for 1859.
• PCGS considers the 1858-O the most common of the New Orleans half dimes, narrowly ahead of the 1860-O.
• Certified population for the 1858-O tops out at roughly a dozen MS65s, four MS66s and one MS66+, with none finer.