1850 Mint Set with Gold

The mid-century Mint set of 1850 contains no real rarities. Containing twelve coins, it includes the Half Cent and Cent struck in Philadelphia, and the five silver coins (Half Dime, Dime, Quarter, Half and Dollar) struck in both Philadelphia and New Orleans. The New Orleans coins are, as a rule, tougher, but in this year and the next, it is the Philadelphia Half Dollar that is elusive. No doubt due to the export and melting this issue saw due to the high world silver prices relative to gold. 1850 was a pivotal year for gold coinage. The discovery of gold in California the previous year led to increased supplies of bullion coming in for coinage, and a new denomination, the Double Eagle or $20 gold piece made its debut. Over the next five years, some seven million pieces would be struck in Philadelphia alone. The scarce pieces in this set are the "C" and "D" mint gold Dollars, Quarter and Half Eagles. The Eagles and Double struck in New Orleans are also tough to find in high grade, and both cases, only one or two Mint State pieces have been graded by PCGS.

Notes: This set has bonuses. Please see the Set Composition for a listing.