1858-O 50C Liberty Seated Half Dollar NGC SE Ex.SS Republic

This has to be in the top three silver coins that we've handled from the S.S. Republic shipwreck in terms of quality and state-of-preservation. This coin really stands head-and-shoulders above the rest!

While this may be considered a common coin, research suggests otherwise, that large numbers of them were sent in trade to China. Lets take a look at some evidence. Firstly, there are quite a few New Orleans Mint Liberty Seated half dollars that have Chinese chopmarks upon them. The mintage of the 1858-O was 7,294,000, among the largest in the series. However, PCGS and NGC have graded a total of only 1,992 original examples of this issue. That suggests that the 1858-O issue was the subject of extensive export to the Orient.

Port and city of New Orleans, a major international export center when Liberty Seated half dollars were struck. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

More evidence to consider is that the New Orleans Mint was located in a commercial port city that was a leading international export center. Add to the above the “free silver” policy of the U.S. Mint. Merchants could bring bullion and debased, worn silver Mexican and U.S. coins (half dimes, dimes, and quarters) to the mint and get new Liberty Seated half dollars in exchange—without paying a seigniorage charge. F.M. Rose, who authored and published the first book on chopmarked coins, Chopmarks, in 1987, writes that Seated Liberty half dollars with chopmarks can be collected by date and mintmark. He also reports that there are up to 500 Liberty Seated halves available with chopmarks upon them.