1859 Half Dollar

HBCC#:

6035

Breen#:

n/a

BD#:

n/a

Judd#:

253

Pollock#:

292

This is actually a mule of two different obverse dies. Anthony Paquet’s Liberty Seated obverse is muled with James Longacre’s French Liberty Head design. While many pattern issues of this era are extremely rare, the pattern half dollars dated 1859 provide a different scenario. Many different designs were prepared with numerous pattern issues. The Mint was pretending to be a coin dealer at this time, and prepared for sale sets of four half dollar patterns dated 1859. This particular mule is quite rare today, with only five or six examples known.

Provenance:

From Numismatics, Ltd., August 12, 1974, via trade, the details of which were not recorded.

Obverse:

Seated figure of Liberty facing left, fasces in right hand, left hand supports shield, 13 stars around, date below. A close examination reveals rather crude features of Miss Liberty, certainly not at all comparable to the beauty of the regular Liberty Seated design. James Ross Snowden credited Anthony C. Paquet with the motif, a similar style also being used on $20 pieces of the year. Perhaps Paquet was "practicing."

Reverse:

Bust of Liberty to right, vine and oak leaves in her hair, ribbon at neck reads LIBERTY, UNITED STATES behind bust, OF AMERICA before bust, date below bust.

Commentary:

"Traded in from Numismatics, Ltd."