1861-S 50C VF25 认证号81388940, PCGS号6306

1861-S 50C – Civil War Collection – The San Francisco Mint produced a hefty 939,500 Half dollars in 1861 and PCGS estimates 550 remaining for collectors. Like other San Francisco minted coins of that era, high quality/graded coins are elusive with only 60 estimated to be in uncirculated condition (PCGS CoinFacts: April 17, 2016). PCGS has graded 170 coins and 35 graded as uncirculated while NGC has graded 90 coins and 31 graded uncirculated (Source: PCGS & NGC April 11, 2016). Remember those numbers could include some double counts of coins resubmitted hoping for a higher grade or sent as crossovers to the opposite grading agency.

Ron Guth

Of all the coins made by the San Francisco mint in 1861, the Half Dollar had the highest mintage (the only other coin that came close was the 1861-S $20 gold piece).  However, this fact does not make the 1861-S Half Dollar necessarily rare.  Compared with other Civil War-era Half Dollars, the 1861-S is not as scarce as the 1864-S or the 1865-S, but nowhere near as common as the 1861 or 1861-O. 

Of the roughly three dozen Mint State examples certified by PCGS (as of October 2011), the most frequently-encountered grade is MS-64.  Gem 1861-S Half Dollars are very rare; the finest known is a single PCGS MS-66.