1851-O 50C MS(PCGS#6267)

August 2011 Chicago ANA - Rarities Night

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

7040

等级

MS64

价格

19,283

详细说明

1851-O Seated Liberty Half Dollar. WB-101. MS-64 (PCGS). Pleasing for the depth of the strike and toning, which includes an array of blue and russet over slightly reflective fields, with the toning outlining the devices. Clean surfaces add to the appeal, with minimal handling found under close examination. Trace die rust is present with a raised lump on Liberty's right arm, another on the ribbon, some in the field near star eleven and possibly one just right of the flag of the 5, although this may be evidence of repunching. Scarce as a date and quite rare at this lofty grade level. The reported mintage stands at 402,000 pieces, a mere fraction of prior year mintages from New Orleans of this denomination. New Orleans in the 1840s became a major hub of shipping, not only for the Mississippi River which emptied into the Gulf of Mexico via its port, but also for the explosively growing gold shipments coming from California by 1850, New Orleans being a major supply stop for the ships on their way to the East Coast. Such a tectonic event as the discovery of massive amounts of gold in California actually tipped the entire world's monetary axis, significantly disrupting the ever changing balance between the two primary monetary metals, gold and silver. As gold flooded into this equation, the scarcity of silver rose in offsetting fashion, pushing the metallic value of silver above the face value of such coins as these. Naturally, when money can be obtained for a discount, then money is obtained. Silver disappeared from circulation and a significant percentage of the silver coins struck in the early 1850s ended up being melted for the profit that the metal presented. By 1853 Congress got around to reducing the silver content in the half dollar down to the half dime, and the new lighter weight coins were signified with arrows at the date, to easily identify them. The melting of coins subsided, and the various mints cranked up their presses and flooded the economy with the