1839-O 50C Capped Bust, Reeded Edge NGC MS64

This is a truly stunning work of numismatic art. The mintmark is boldly doubled below, as is typically seen. Both dies are distinctly cracked, also as frequently seen. This superb near-Gem has ivory luster beneath dramatic gold, purple, and sky-blue toning on both sides; the deeper shades are found closer to the rim. The surfaces are smooth and frosty, with few marks on either side. The 1839-O is the first collectible New Orleans half dollar, as well as the only collectible issue of the Capped Bust motif from that mint. 

A scale for weighing coinage used at the New Orleans Mint in the 19th century. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The first general half dollar emission from the New Orleans Mint carries the date 1839. This was indeed a relatively small mintage for the era, and the sources are in disagreement as to the definite total. Krause Publications and the Dick Graham book report the conventional figure of 178,976 pieces, while the Whitman Red Book gives us a total of only 116,000 1839-O half dollars.

Both figures suggest a fairly scarce issue, which experience and research confirms. This date/mint is virtually always found quite worn. Mint State survivors are rare, and gems are exceedingly rare. As with the O-Mint gold coins of 1838-39, the half dollar's mintmark was placed on the obverse above the date. The year 1840 saw the mintmark moved to the reverse.