1844 Liberty Seated Half Dime. MS-66+ (PCGS). This wonderfully original example exhibits vivid cobalt blue peripheral toning that yields to warmer pewter-gray patina toward the centers. Smooth and satiny throughout with a razor sharp strike from the dies. Produced to the extent of just 430,000 pieces, the 1844 has one of the lower mintages among Philadelphia Mint half dimes from the 1840s. Even so, it is among the more readily obtainable early date issues in the Liberty Seated half dime series, the "normal date" variety represented being significantly scarcer than its FS-301 Repunched Date counterpart in numismatic circles. The issue as a whole is scarce in Mint State and rarely offered any finer than MS-66. Here, then, is an important condition rarity that is sure to see spirited bidding at auction. From the Collection of Silas Stanley Roberts, 1888-1966.
