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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Collector1966, post: 1257278, member: 17919&quot;]Several factors to consider here</p><p>1) According to the Redbook, half dollars during this time were generally traded among banks and didn&#039;t really circulate so much among the citizenry.</p><p>2) The Redbook also states that it was estimated that in 1830, there was only 1 domestically-produced silver coin for each person in the country-- so the demand was apparently there.</p><p>3) The amount of silver coinage depended on the amount of silver that was brought in to the Mint. Since worn Spanish Empire coins circulated alongside US coins during that time on a face value (rather than silver weight) basis, it wouldn&#039;t have made sense for someone with, say, old worn 2 reales pieces to take them to the Mint for recoinage into US quarters of standard weight, since the holder would be losing money on the deal. Also, there weren&#039;t too many silver mines in the US at that time (I can&#039;t think of even one offhand), so there wasn&#039;t a lot of fresh silver coming into the Mint.</p><p>4) Paper currency circulated, but it wasn&#039;t government currency, and the banks that issued it weren&#039;t always reliable. Also, paper currency often was accepted at a discount (if at all) outside of its area of issue. People would rather have had gold and silver coinage, but had to make do with what was available.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think the most likely reason for the paucity of silver issues in 1826 was that there was little silver being brought in to the Mint that year, and the silver that was brought in was set aside for banks to meet their demand for half dollars, rather than for meeting the commerce needs of the average citizen.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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