1865 Liberty Seated Half Dime. V-1, the only known dies. MS-65 (PCGS). CAC.This awe-inspiring Gem combines a semi-prooflike obverse with a more uniformly frosty reverse. Pretty champagne-gold iridescence hugs the peripheries, the toning a bit more extensive on the reverse. Striking detail is razor sharp throughout, and the surfaces are expectably smooth for the assigned grade. With silver coins still absent from commercial use in the East and Midwest during the final year of the Civil War, it is little wonder that the Philadelphia Mint produced just 13,000 circulation strike half dimes in 1865. This issue is understandably scarce in an absolute sense, and as a Gem it is an undeniable rarity from a condition standpoint. Outstanding!<p>The Valentine-1 attribution refers to both Proofs and circulation strikes for the 1865 half dime, both issues sharing the same die pairing. The obverse exhibits repunching at the lower right corner of the digit 1, the digit 8 with a projection from its upper right side that is probably the result of a defective device punch. A thin, faint die gouge joins the upper left side of the first letter T in STATES to the border. The reverse of the present example is rotated approximately 30 degrees clockwise from normal coin alignment, and both sides are clashed, the obverse most notably in the right field, the reverse at the letters ME in DIME.PCGS# 4386. NGC ID: 234G.PCGS Population: 8; 12 finer (MS-67+ finest).From the Henry Collection of Liberty Seated Half Dimes.
