The pearlescent-silver surfaces of this half dollar are draped in delicate amber tones with vivid teal iridescence at the borders. Overall bold and well pronounced, there is only slight softness at the right obverse border, characteristic to this die pairing. Only trivial scattered blemishes can be seen under magnification. The reverse crack from the edge below the first S in STATES has fully developed, along with a crack that vines through the F in OF and up along the leaves towards the final S in STATES; this piece as a late example of the O-101 dies, struck just before the progression to the O-101a die state. For 18th century type collectors and the half dollar specialists, the present offering represents a significant opportunity. As the first year of issue for both the type and the denomination, 1794 Flowing Hair half dollars are intensely sought-after by collectors. Authorized by the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, and based on a derivative of the Spanish 8 reales denomination, the half dollar was approximately equivalent to "four bits" or the 4 reales coins that were circulating as legal tender in America at the time. Once the Mint had been established in Philadelphia, coinage of silver and gold denominations was delayed by bond requirements placed on the assayer and the coiner. It was only after Thomas Jefferson wrote to President Washington about the matter in December of 1793 that the bond amounts were eventually lowered, and half dollar production finally began late in 1794. Struck on the Mints presses only when dollar planchets proved to be too stubborn to render into sharply-struck coins, 5,300 half dollars were delivered on December 1, 1794, with a second group of 18,164 coins delivered two months later on February 4, 1795. While most scholars traditionally combine these two delivery figures to get the total mintage for the 1794 half, researcher Steve Tompkins notes in his new reference <em> Early United States Half Dollars, Volume 1, 1794-1807</em> (2015) official documentation is lacking substantiating that the second delivery was composed of 1794-dated coins. Whether produced to the traditional-recognized quantity of 23,464 pieces, the newly-theorized 5,300 figure, or something in-between, the Flowing Hair half dollars of 1794 are scarce and desirable, with problem free survivors like the present example elusive in the marketplace. ,,PCGS# 6051.,,
