1870 Half dime

HBCC#:

6082

Breen#:

n/a

BD#:

n/a

Judd#:

810

Pollock#:

898

William Barber’s Liberty Seated half dime utilized the very same obverse die as seen at HBCC-6081, the trime pattern of this design. This issue has the “Standard silver” reverse with a wreath of cotton and corn. The Standard Silver concept was developed as the Mint continued to experiment with reduced weight of coinage to counteract hoarding of precious metals. In practice, there is considerable variation in weight of different examples known today, suggesting that Mint personnel were somewhat careless in the manufacture of these patterns.

Provenance:

Purchased from Abe Kosoff, August 3, 1971.

Obverse:

Seated Liberty to left, upright Liberty pole with cap behind, shield in right hand, olive branch in left hand, LIBERTY on ribbon across shield, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around, date below.

Reverse:

Wreath of corn and cotton, 5 CENTS on two lines in wreath, STANDARD above wreath.

Commentary: