1850 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. WB-4. Rarity-3. AU-55 (NGC).This is a boldly and handsomely toned half dollar with the most vivid colors ringing the reverse periphery. It is overall sharply defined, as befits the assigned grade, with hints of original mint luster evident. The 1850 through 1852 issues make up a trio of low mintage circulation strike half dollars from the Philadelphia Mint. The discovery of gold in California in 1849, followed by gold strikes in Australia in 1850, upset the delicate balance between gold and silver in the world market. Suddenly scarce relative to gold, by 1850 the price of silver had risen to the point where it cost more than face value to mint new silver coins. Circulation strike half dollar production at the Philadelphia Mint amounted to just 227,000 pieces in 1850, compared to 1,252,000 coins in 1849. The 1850 is scarce to rare in all grades, with most of the survivors either lightly circulated or in Mint State, indicative of the fact that this issue did not circulate to a great extent at the time of issue. On the other hand, most examples that were removed from commercial channels by speculators were eventually melted for their precious metal content, leaving few coins for todays advanced collectors of Liberty Seated coinage.
