With a Note on the Confederate Half Dollar Restrikes
1861-O Half Dollar Minted at the New
Orleans Mint
The 1861-O Half Dollar was minted under three different
governments in the same year. The New Orleans Mint began the year
1861 by producing 330,000 halves as a branch mint of the United
States. On January 26th, 1861, the State of Louisiana seceded from
the Union and the Mint, along with nearly $5,000,000.00 in silver
and gold, was seized by Lousiana militia on Jan. 31, 1861. The Mint
personnel were forced to strike silver half dollars and $20 gold
coins using the existing U.S. coinage dies that were on hand.
During the State of Louisiana's brief control of the Mint, another
1,240,000 half dollars were struck for their government. Louisiana
turned over the Mint to the Confederate central government on Feb.
28, 1861. An additional 962,633 half dollars were minted under CSA
control. The coin dies that were used by the 3 different
governments were never altered and the combined total of 2,532,633
half dollars are indistinguishable from one another. In April 1861,
Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, Christopher Memminger,
issued orders that new designs for a Confederate half dollar should be submitted
to him for approval. Among several sent, the one approved bore on
the obverse of the coin a representation of the Goddess of Liberty,
surrounded by thirteen stars, denoting the thirteen States from
whence the Confederacy sprung, and on the lower rim the figures,
1861. On the reverse there is a shield with seven stars,
representing the seceding States; above the shield is a
liberty-cap, and entwined around it stalks of sugar cane and
cotton, "Confederate State of America." The dies were engraved by
A. H. M. Peterson. They were prepared for the coining press by
Conrad Schmidt, foreman of the coining room, from which four pieces
only were struck. The Mint was closed on April 30, 1861 by Sec.
Memminger due to the difficulty of obtaining bullion. Of the 4
pieces minted, one was sent to the Confederate Government,
presumably to President Jefferson Davis, one presented to Prof.
Biddle, of the University of Louisiana, one sent to Dr. E. Ames of
New Orleans, and one was kept by B.F. Taylor, Chief Coiner of the
Confederate States Mint. The New Orleans Mint remained closed until
coining began again in 1879.
Reverse of the 1861 Confederate Designed
Half Dollar
A Note on the Confederate Half Dollar
Restrikes
During 1879, B.F. Taylor, the ex-Chief Coiner of the Confederate
Mint, sold the die that was used to make the reverse side of the 4
original Confederate designed and minted half dollars to E. Mason
Jr. of Philadelphia, who resold the die J. Walter Scott and
Company, a New York coin dealer. In 1882 Scott obtained 500
circulated 1861 dated U.S. Seated Liberty half dollars to be used
for his planned restrikes. The first few restrikes were minted by
striking the die directly onto the reverse of the U.S. half dollar
which resulted with some of the original U.S. design being visible
underneath the Confederate reverse. On the remainder of the 500
half dollars, Scott shaved off the U.S. reverse design and restruck
the now blank back of the coin with the original Confederate
reverse die. The weight of an original Scott Restrike Confederate
half dollar should be 12.44 grams on the earliest examples where
portions of the U.S. design are visible underneath the restrike and
slightly less on the restrikes that had the U.S. reverse shaved
off. Also, on a Scott Restrike, the denticles on the reverse may be
off-center and may appear to not be quite as far to the edge of the
coin as they are on its front. In today's market the original Scott
Restrike will sell for $4000.00 to $10,000.00, depending on it's
condition. Modern copies of the Scott Restrike have been made since
the 1960's and are usually struck in white metal or bronze and have
no collector value. Some modern copies have been struck in oxided
silver which gives the token a darker, smokey look. These copies
generally sell on some of the larger internet auction sites in the
$20 to $25 range. Also, most modern copies appear to be perfect
strikes and generally don't weigh the same as the original
restrikes.
