The 1859 Philadelphia half dime sports a unique obverse named after an assistant engraver, Anthony C. Paquet. I don't believe anyone knows why this was done, and the only other dies that I can find attributed to Paquet are the reverses of the 1861 and 1861-S Double Eagles. Unlike the very expensive DEs, the half dime is affordable. My example is graded PCGS PF-62 Gold CAC. Many half dime collectors consider the Paquet Obverse to be worthy of collecting as a separate type despite the Red Book not designating it as such. The Paquet obverse was also used in the 1859 "Obverse of 1859, Reverse of 1860, Transitional Issue" (very rare, 20 in Proof only) and also in the 1860 "Obverse of 1859, Reverse of 1860, Transitional Issue (rare, 100 circulation strike mintage specially struck by Mint Director Snowden for collectors only). Both of these coins nowhere show a national identity, the legend "United States of America" not appearing on either obverse or reverse. The 1859-O half dime used the obverse design of 1858. The composite photos below compare the detail differences between my 1858 standard obverse coin and my 1859 Paquet obverse coin. The differences are: * Liberty's head is slightly farther from the border on the Paquet design. * Liberty's cap is slightly larger and slightly closer to the border on the Paquet. * Liberty's finger is tucked down at the pole on the Paquet. * The stars have hollow centers (called "Mullets" or "Molets") on the Paquet. * The lower left side of the rock is more extended to the left and is slightly different in its details on the Paquet. The Capped Bust and Liberty Seated half dimes, often overlooked by collectors, offer many interesting examples and varieties. It used to be difficult to appreciate these small coins but the advent of inexpensive and technically excellent cameras and editing software have made their details much more accessible. If I've made any errors in this, please feel free to offer corrections. As my wife often tells me "Humble is a virtue."
That's some real numismatic scholarship, Publius2! Thanks for posting this, I did not know about the Paquet half dimes. Here is a link to a thread on the CU forums with additional bio information and some of the medals he engraved. Your information on the half dimes is more thorough, though. Nice work! https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1047940/anthony-conrad-paquet-german-american-engraver
@ksparrow, thanks for the link. I wasn't aware that Paquet was responsible (with Longacre) for the Type II LS quarter reverse as well. Nor did I know about his extensive medallic body of work. When I went back to my Briggs, I found the reference on the 1859 quarters.
