Not your ordinary 50 cent piece! This 1840 (O) was minted in New Orleans - "This is a very interesting variety that pairs an 1840 Seated Liberty obverse with a reverse die that was used to strike a Capped Bust Half Dollar! Though this is quite unusual in itself, comparison with 1839 Capped Bust Half Dollars revealed that the reverse came not from a Philadelphia Mint coin, but from one minted at New Orleans! This can be explained by the fact that, in 1838 and 1839, the "O" mintmark was placed on the the obverse of the Half Dollar." (Ron Guth). In some ways this piece is the "star" of my 1840 mint set because of it's unusual derivation. My 1840 mint set is only missing a few half dimes (boring.. haha - not much interest from me in half dimes, but I know there are folks who love them). I have decent examples of all the 1840 gold coinage and all the silver except three half dimes. I like that year because the Eagle is the largest coin and many of the issues are 1st issues. (https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/185179/). 1840 - a good year for a lot of people who weren't slaves, huh? Wm Henry Harrison won the election 1840 and died shortly after. Harrison was from Indiana, but nevertheless was pro-slavery and owned slaves himself. Other than the Adams, John and John Quincy, every president before Lincoln was either pro-slavery or slavery tolerant. How times change, or at least we think, or hope they do.
I just can’t get enough of posting this one. I just love that it has fiery luster about 170 years later.