Specializing
in Liberty Seated Half Dollars
Dick Osburn
713-875-5860
rarecoins@dickosburn.com
1
How’d I Get Here?
Began collecting in 1955
• Dad had typical coins in his top drawer
Dealing by 1958
• Lincolns, Jeff nickels, Merc dimes, etc.
• Selling circulation finds at local shows
2
Series Characteristics
Designer
First official issue
Last issue
Mints
Christian Gobrecht
1839 no drapery
1891
Philadelphia
1839 - 1891
San Francisco
1855 - 1878
New Orleans
1840 - 1861
Carson City
1870 - 1878
Total dates/mintmarks
108
Total varieties
306 in Wiley/Bugert reference
~500 estimated
Total die marriages
~2500 estimated
3
Design Types
YEAR
Type
1839
1839-1842
1842-1866
no motto
1853
1854-1855
1866-1891
1873-1874
No drapery
With drapery, small date/ letters
With drapery, large date/ letters,
Arrows & Rays, no motto
Arrows only, no motto
With Motto
With arrows, with motto
Minor hub changes – 1858, 1876
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Seated Half Rarity
By Date and Mintmark (all varieties included)
R7+
3 known
1853-O No Arrows
1842 small date small letters
R5
~65 known
1878-S
R3
Less than 500
1851, 1852-O, 1870-CC, 1878-CC
1871-CC, 1874-CC
R2
Less than 1250
1842-O SD, 1846-O TD, 1850, 1852
1855-S, 1856-S, 1857-S, 1866-S NM
1872-CC, 1873-CC NA, 1873-CC WA
1885, 1886, 1887
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Seated Half Rarity
By Variety
Value (XF)
Unknown
1880, type 1 reverse
Unique
1866, no motto
(Actually a pattern, the DuPont coin)
1 known
1877, WB-101, type 1 reverse
3 known
1842, small date and letters
5-7 known
1851, WB-104, 8 in denticles
~15 known
1877/77 type 1 reverse (Proof)
1875-S, WB-104, micro S
2,000
5,000
~30 known
1849/1849, WB-102, dramatically doubled date
1876-S, WB-103, tail hub variety 2
5,000
1,500
~50 known
1847/6, WB-102
~75 known
1873, WB-101, no arrows, open 3
9,000
~250 known
1844/1844-O, WB-103, dramatically doubled date
2,500
$35,000+?
5,000?
12,500
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Seated Half Rarity
The “Not So Rare”
1855/4
You can find one or two at any large show
1845-O No Drapery
Actually a die state, caused by polishing the die
(the 1839 ND is the exception)
Many other no drapery dates are available
1846/horizontal 6
1844-O doubled date
Spectacular, very visible varieties, therefore high
priced, but not excessively rare
1879 through 1890
Rare by mintage, but always available
Buy proofs for not much more than G-VG
1885, 1886, and 1887 are rarer than the others
1855-S
Louisiana hoard dispersed about 10 years ago
7
Seated Half Rarity
Sleepers
1842-O Large date
Common date, but very hard to find
1848
Moderate price, hard to find
1851
Higher priced, but virtually unavailable
1851-O
Higher mintage, and common date price
Sought by date collectors due to scarcity of 1851
1852-O
Price references around $100 in G/VG
Virtually unavailable in all grades
1856-S, 1857-S
As scarce as 1855-S, but at a fraction of the price
1862 - 1865
Civil war issues disappeared
1864-S
Very underrated. Virtually unobtainable in AU - MS
8
Interesting Coins
1840 “Medium Letters” reverse
•
•
Bust half reverse (obverse mintmark) used to strike an 1840-O seated half
Result - the “Medium Letters” no mintmark variety, which is actually a
New Orleans issue
Early New Orleans die usage
•
1845-O WB-108
1846, 6 over horizontal 6
The 1861-O “Confederate” halves
•
Obverse die linked to real 1861 Confederate half dollar issued by the CSA
1866 with misplaced digits (WB-103)
9
Cherry Picking (for fun and profit)
The Rules of Engagement
• Cherry Picking is an honorable pursuit (NOT theft)
– You worked hard for the knowledge - YOU EARNED IT!!
– Most (but not all) dealers agree
• Be courteous to a dealer’s other customers
– Don’t hog the table
• When you find something
– Complete your search before asking for prices
– Ask the price, then pay it or move on
– If the dealer asks what you’ve found, tell him
10
Closing Thoughts
Get smart - buy the books before the coins
Limit your scope - specialize
Buy a microscope
Series suggestions :
Low budget
Moderate budget
Big bucks
Type set
Date set
First and last year transitional set
Date and mintmark set
11
References
1. Wiley, Randy; and Bugert, Bill, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half
Dollars. Virginia Beach, Virginia: DLRC Press, 1993.
2. The Gobrecht Journal. Three times yearly publication of the Liberty
Seated Collector’s Club.
3. The Gobrecht Journal, Collective Volumes 1-4. Published by the Liberty
Seated Collector’s Club.
4. Flynn, Kevin, Two Dates are Better Than One, A Collector’s Guide to
Misplaced Dates. Rancocas, New Jersey: KCK Press, 1997.
5. Lloyd, Lloyd M., The Varieties of 1854 New Orleans Liberty Seated Half
Dollars, Published by Mike Lloyd, 1998.
6. Beistle, M. L., A Register of Half Dollar Die Varieties and Sub-Varieties.
Shippenburg, Pensylvania: The Beistle Company, 1929.
7. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and
Colonial Coins. New York: F. C. I. Press, Inc. and Doubleday, 1988.
8. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and
Colonial Proof Coins. New York: F. C. I. Press, Inc. and Doubleday, 1977.
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