1858-O 50C AG3 认证号18496196, PCGS号6294

Minted in the old South as the United States approached its darkest hour. In passing from hand-to-hand, first as a mechanism of commerce and later as a collectable, the history and the magnitude of change witnessed by this piece cannot be overestimated. Might it have been employed, early in its existance, to purchase a slave? Where was it during the battles that tore through the South during the Civil War? Did a Southern famiy, desperate to protect what little they had left, hide it from Sherman's advancing armies? Carpetbaggers? What role did in play in the reconstruction? Nearly a 100 years after its creation - did it hear the cries of Freedom Marchers? One can only wonder...

Ron Guth

Thanks to a large mintage of over 7 million coins, the 1858-O Half Dollar is a common coin in most grades.  Mint State examples are plentiful in MS62 and MS63, but the population begins to drop off quickly in MS64 and above.  The finest 1858-O Half Dollar is a single PCGS MS66 formerly of the Eugene Gardner Collection (not a surprise since Mr. Gardner had such an extraordinary taste for superb quality Seated Liberty coinage).  

Numerous 1858-O Half Dollars were recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Republic in 2003 off the coast of Georgia.  Most saw limited circulation before the ship went down in 1865, but all were affected by salt water corrosion, thus they show nice details, but lightly pitted surfaces.