1866 50C Liberty Seated Half Dollar, with Motto PCGS MS64 (CAC)

This offering from AUCM, the 1866 Seated Liberty half dollar, with Motto, is an excellent--and rare--mint state example of the first year of this popular type coin. It would be perfect to include this piece in a type set of U.S. half dollars--or a set of the different varieties of Seated Liberty half dollars. Please contact AUCM if you would like to discuss putting together your own type set--or adding to an existing one in your collection.

The Seated Liberty design was a collaboration of several hands and minds before it appeared on the half dollar and other coins. It was U.S. Mint Director Robert B. Patterson, who, in 1835, was desirous of a new coin that was reminiscent of Britannia on British copper. Artist Thomas Sully was tasked with crafting a rendering of Liberty based on a set of British coins and medals. Then Sully's work was given to the newly hired engraver, Christian Gobrecht, who created a series of drawings before producing a copper die for study and presentation in Washington, D.C. When the new half dollars were produced, starting in 1839, they had an updated reverse that was a freshly engraved version of John Reich's 1807 eagle reverse design--sans the motto and ribbon. The year 1839 saw sculptor Robert Ball Hughes lower the relief, refine the proportions and dynamics of the Liberty, as well as add an eloquent fold of cloth from the right elbow. Thus, the design as we know it today should really be called the "Patterson-Sully-Gobrecht-Hughes" design. It was in 1866 that the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on a ribbon over the majestic eagle on the reverse.

Numismatic art critic and scholar Cornelius Vermeule discusses how the medallic adjustments by Hughes resulted in the design found on this rare and beautiful offering from AUCM. "...Hughes enlarged Liberty's head and her cap on the pole. He fattened the right arm reaching down to the shield...the twisted, dishmop effect of the long hair...was smoothed out, and a curl was added to bring the disjointed right shoulder closer to the head and neck. A larger, curved series of folds of drapery was introduced from the left elbow to the knee .... the folds of the main garment ... were smoothed out .... Greater clarity emerged in the proportions of the body ... These modifications also eliminated the distressing similarity to a shower curtain in the crinkly folds of vertical drapery derived from the original interpretation of Sully's sketch."