1861 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. MS-66 (PCGS). CAC.An extraordinary premium Gem, among the finest certified for the issue as well as the challenging No Motto Liberty Seated half dollar design type. Beautifully toned, both sides exhibit blended reddish-orange, antique gold, powder blue and olive-gray that speak volumes about the coins originality. Full satin luster flows serenely over surfaces that are at the threshold of numismatic perfection. The strike is crisp with complete definition throughout the design. With qualities like these, this is an outstanding example that would serve as a highlight in a world class type or date set.<p>The commencement of hostilities with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861 was followed by the appearance of the newly issued paper currency that would eventually become dominant in commercial channels in the East and Midwest throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Uncertainty over the outcome of the conflict resulted in the withdrawal of gold from circulation in the East and Midwest in December 1861. Even had gold remained in circulation, the financial needs of the Union war effort rose to such levels beginning in 1862 that gold coinage alone could not come close to the required levels. Financial elasticity was possible only by returning to a federally issued paper currency, the Demand Notes of 1861 followed by the Legal Tender or greenback notes of 1862. They were federal paper not seen in quantity since the American Revolution. Subsidiary silver coinage remained generally at par with the Demand Notes of 1861, which explains the sizable mintages of half dimes, dimes, quarters and half dollars at Philadelphia in 1861 and early 1862. The Legal Tender or greenback notes issued in the spring of 1862, however, were not redeemable in either gold or silver and their appearance in quantity was quickly followed by the withdrawal of silver coinage from circulation in the East and Midwest after June of that year.<p>With a mintage of 2,887,400 pieces, the 1861 is the last high mintage half dollar issue from the Philadelphia Mint until the 1870s. It has long been a mainstay of type collections in both circulated and Mint State grades. As with all classic U.S. Mint issues, however, there comes a grade level at which condition rarity replaces absolute availability in discussing an individual coins primary selling points. For the circulation strike 1861 half dollar, that grade level is MS-65. In PCGS/CAC MS-66, the offered coin is rarer still and virtually unimprovable in every way.PCGS# 6302. NGC ID: 24J7.PCGS Population: 18; 6 finer (MS-67 finest).<p>CAC Stickered Population: 8; 0.
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