1802 50C AU50 认证号11522406, PCGS号6065

O-101, R.3. Toned with lovely deep peripheral blue which extends beyond the obverse stars and reverse legend to the rim. A similar number of 1802 halves were struck when compared to the 1801: 29,890 pieces compared to 30,289 of the 1801. But for a series with so many die varieties and even sub-varieties, the 1802 half dollar mintage is a lesson in contradiction, as the 29,890 pieces recorded struck were produced from a single die pair. There are no others known for the date, and after 200+ years it is highly unlikely, although not impossible, that any others will be found. The year 1827 holds the series record for the greatest number of die marriages. The 28 obverse dies and 34 reverse dies were married in 49 different combinations to produce the 5.5 million pieces for the year, for an average of more than 112,000 halves per pair. In the case of the 1802, then, it is little wonder that the Mint personnel even saw fit to reuse master dies from 1801 to produce the working dies for 1802: After all, that mintage amounted to only one-quarter of the average mintage for a single die pair in 1827. The 1802 also bears the distinction of being the only Draped Bust half that is a single-variety year. (The 1815, a Capped Bust design, is a single-variety year as well.) While the reasons for the relatively small mintage are lost to posterity, it bears mentioning that the other silver denominations produced during the year, the half dime and dime, are also small by series standards, with the half dime a legendary rarity. (The difference, of course, is that most yearly mintages of the early half dime and dime were on the smallish side, while the silver half dollar, along with the large cent and gold half eagle, was one of the three workhorse coinage denominations of early U.S. commerce.) Mint State coins of this issue are quite rare. Only two Mint State pieces have been recorded in recent auction appearances, so there is considerable pressure on the dozen or so AU coins that have made the rounds in recent auctions. This piece apparently falls just outside the traditional Condition Census of the top six examples, with at least half a dozen finer examples known. The design elements on the present coin are sharply defined, though the star centers along the left border are weak. Attractive cobalt-blue, lavender, and gold-brown patina is evident on the obverse periphery, and lesser so on the reverse periphery. Traces of luster are seen in the recessed areas, and the relatively clean surfaces are devoid of significant marks. Diagonal adjustment marks are present in the upper and central reverse.