1862-S Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Type I Reverse. WB-1. Rarity-3. Damaged 6, Large S. MS-62 (PCGS). CAC. Delightful frosty surfaces with splashes of iridescent toning in reddish-apricot and champagne-gold. The strike is sharply executed, and the surfaces are quite well preserved for the issue and for the assigned grade. Although silver coins disappeared from circulation in the East and Midwest early in the Civil War, it remained business as usual on the West Coast throughout the 1860s. In 1862, for example, the San Francisco Mint churned out 1,352,000 half dollars, most of which saw immediate and extensive commercial use. With no known collectors in California during the era, the few existing Mint State coins seem to have survived purely as a matter of chance. This is a rare and desirable CAC-approved example whose offering in this sale represents a significant bidding opportunity for advanced collectors of Liberty Seated coinage. From the Abigail Collection, Part II.
