1879 Liberty Head Half Eagle. MS-62 (PCGS). Vivid light honey-apricot surfaces support a sharp to full strike with soft, frosty mint luster throughout. Half eagle production at the Philadelphia Mint continued to step up in 1879, the facility striking 301,920 coins for commercial use. The market achieved parity between gold coins and paper money in December of the preceding year, allowing the latter to return to active commercial use in the eastern and midwestern parts of the United States. The 1879 is much more plentiful in Mint State than most of the early dated Philadelphia Mint half eagles going back to 1862, but it is also scarcer than most later date issues in this series. Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth (2008) use the word "uncommon" to describe this issue in Mint State, which is particularly apt at and above the MS-62 level. PCGS# 8348. NGC ID: 25X7. From the Fairmont Collection - Mont Blanc Set.
