1815/2 50C Capped Bust Half Dollar PCGS XF Details

The 1815/2 Capped Bust half dollar stands as one of the most significant rarities in early American silver coinage, produced under the constraints of the post-War of 1812 era. Only 47,150 half dollars were struck late in the year from a single pair of dies—an unused 1812 obverse repunched with a 5 over the 2—making every example of the date an overdate. These coins were delivered to the Mint treasurer on January 10, 1816; not long after the delivery of half dollars in January 1816, the building that housed the rolling mills burned down and no silver coinage would be produced again until 1817. The issue therefore marks both the official conclusion of the War of 1812 and a brief, disrupted resumption of silver production before the Mint’s planchet-making capacity was lost.

With a mintage amounting to just 6% of second-place 1807’s reported mintage of 750,500, the 1815/2 is the undisputed key issue to completion of a Capped Bust half dollar set and enjoys strong collector demand at all levels of preservation. Only around 1,000–2,000 examples are estimated to survive today (some population studies place the total nearer 800), the majority of which show the expected wear of long circulation; high-grade survivors remain especially elusive. Fine specimens that retain really superb surfaces for a coin that is over 210 years old are therefore prized not only for their scarcity but as tangible links to the final months of the War of 1812 and the subsequent Mint fire that halted further silver coinage. 

The present example would likely grade significantly higher were it not for a small vertical scratch on the obverse at the lower portion of Liberty. Although this mark is virtually invisible beneath the original toning, we believe it is the primary factor keeping the coin from commanding roughly double the price currently asked.