Description: The discovery of gold in California and other places in the late 1840s and early 1850s resulted in an abundance of that metal flowing into the realm of commerce. A consequence of this was that the price of gold fell relative to... read more »
Description: Through the Mint Act of February 21, 1853, the weights of fractional silver coins (half dime, dime, quarter, and half dollar) were reduced to remove the incentive the melt those coins for bullion; the silver content of the older... read more »
Description: The “Seated Liberty” designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage during the mid- and late-nineteenth century, from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Seated Liberty design... read more »
Description: Liberty Seated quarters were produced from 1838 through 1891, eventually replaced by Charles E. Barber’s Liberty Head motif. A Guide Book of United States Coins, the familiar Red Book, recognizes five types of Seated quarters;... read more »
Description: The Mint Act of 1890 allowed for change of coin designs every twenty-five years, and the dime, quarter, and half dollar were eligible to be changed in 1891. A contest was held to come up with a new design; judges for the entries... read more »
Description: Charles Barber’s quarter dollar design was introduced in 1892, a beneficiary of the provision of the Mint Act of 1890 which allowed for the design of a coin to be changed every 25 years. Though not mandated by law, Barber’s... read more »
Description: In 1916 Charles E. Barber’s designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar were set aside, replaced by Adolph A. Weinman’s designs for the dime (Winged Liberty Head, or Mercury) and half dollar (Liberty Walking); and... read more »
Description: The United States in the early 1930s suffered under the effects of a widespread economic depression that followed the 1929 stock market crash. The crisis was made worse by severe agricultural stress caused by land erosion and southern... read more »
Description: The Half Dollar of the United States, sometimes known as the fifty-cent piece, has been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States Mint in 1794. The only U.S. coin that has been minted more consistently... read more »
Description: The Draped Bust half dollar was introduced after only two years of production of the previous design. The simple portrait of Liberty on the Flowing Hair type was criticized as being an inappropriate representation, not dignified... read more »
Description: The Draped Bust Small Eagle half dollar type was minted for two years, as was the Flowing Hair type that preceded it. No half dollars were minted from 1798 through 1800, and when the series resumed in 1801 the design was changed... read more »
Description: Two half dollar series are called “Bust Halves”, the earlier Draped Bust type that ended in 1807 and the Capped Bust type that started in 1807 and ended in 1839. Capped Bust halves produced through 1836 have a lettered... read more »
Description: In 1836 Christian Gobrecht completed work for new Capped Bust half dollar obverse and reverse dies in preparation for the transition from man- or animal-powered coinage presses to new steam-powered presses. The new coins were slightly... read more »
Description: Capped Bust half dollars produced at the end of 1836 were some of the first coins made using new steam coinage presses and a close collar, which restricted expansion of the planchet during striking while at the same time giving... read more »
Description: The Liberty Seated design was first seen on Christian Gobrecht’s silver dollar in 1836, the inaugural year of that three-year type that ended in 1839 (no dollars were produced in 1837). The soaring eagle on the reverse of... read more »
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