The thought of having two different designs on a coin in any one year seems strange to us today. That hasn’t happened for over seventy years. The last time was in 1938 when two kinds of nickels were made. It was the last year in which Buffalo nickels were issued, and the first time that the Jefferson design went into production. Prior to that there were many other occasions when transitional designs were used in the same year.
Half dollars dated 1836 and again in 1839 are some of the transitional coins that are among a long list of overlapping designs. They were neither the first nor the last, but they are some of the most interesting to collectors and students of early American coinage. The reason for their popularity is that there are still so many unanswered questions about just what was going on in the mint during that time.
In 1836 Mint Engraver Christian Gobrecht cut new dies to replace the old Liberty Head figure that had been used on half dollar coins for the past thirty years. The design remained essentially the same, but it was much more refined and showed Gobrecht’s superior skill as a master engraver. He also improved the appearance of the eagle on the reverse of the coin, and in the process he removed the traditional motto E PLURIBUS UNUM that had been part of the design since the turn of the century.
The fresh and vastly improved Gobrecht design was fashioned to accommodate modern minting equipment that had recently been installed in the Philadelphia Mint. The use of steam engines for the first time in coinage production allowed the opportunity to make coins that were perfectly round, and in much higher relief than any of the previous American money. To further distinguish between the old and new designs the denomination on the reverse was changed from “50C.” to “50 CENTS”.
There was no question in anyone’s mind about the new coinage being far superior to the anything that had been seen in the past, and all accepted these half dollars with pleasure. What went unnoticed in this change was the fact that the weight of the coin was lowered, the fineness raised, and the silver content reduced by about .006 of an ounce. The difference was so slight that no one complained.
Half dollars of the revised type were made throughout 1836 and 1837, but for some unexplained reason more changes were made to the design in 1838 and 1839. Those revisions were not really improvements, and one can only wonder why the eagle was made slightly larger, the lettering boxier, and the denomination changed to “HALF DOL.”
Perhaps all of those design modifications had something to do with the establishment of a new minting facility in New Orleans during 1838. Perhaps we will never know, but the new mint did begin production that year with an experimental run of about 20 coins. The few remaining examples of that trial coinage are considered great rarities today with specimens trading in the range of $60,000.00 to $75,000.00. Other half dollars of the 1838 to 1839 type made at the Philadelphia Mint are only moderately scarce and usually priced at $50.00 to $100.00 each. A smaller quantity of 1839-O half dollars was produced in New Orleans. Those are worth about three times as much as the more common Philadelphia pieces.
Compounding the confusion of various Bust type half dollar varieties dated from 1836 to 1839, an entirely new design was introduced late in 1839 to replace the earlier pieces. This coin marked the first appearance of the Liberty Seated design on a half dollar coin. The seated figure, which was another creation of Christian Gobrecht, had already been used on other denominations since 1836, and he was eager to see it used on all silver coins. While engraving the new reverse for this design Gobrecht again reduced the size of the eagle and lettering, to achieve a better balance.
A unique feature of the pieces struck at the New Orleans Mint is placement of the mint mark on the front of the coin in the space between the bust and the date near the bottom edge. This was changed in 1840, and for the next 125 years all mint marks appeared on the reverse of half dollars with the lone exception of 1916 and 1917.
Morgan Dollars Not Always Considered Beautiful
1878 Morgan Dollar
Behold the Morgan silver dollar. Many have said that it is one of the most beautiful designs used on any United States coins, but that sentiment is not shared by everyone, and it is a fact that early critics described the portrait of lady Liberty as “ugly” and even “obese.” Clearly, there are some marked differences in perception as to the quality of this design.
Few coin series have inspired as much admiration and demand as the dollar pieces designed by Mint Engraver George T. Morgan. The coins with his rendering of Liberty were minted from 1878 until 1921, and were made in five different mints.
The Morgan dollar may very well be the most famous of all coins, and one whose appeal stretches far beyond numismatic circles into the general public. It is revered for its timeless beauty, numerous varieties and for the economic disasters and fiascoes it has played a hand in for the past 100 years.
Before the Morgan dollars were made in 1878 the previous silver dollar had as its design a seated figure of Liberty which was not particularly beloved by the American public. Thus when the new design was introduced there was a great interest in comparing it to other coins of the time. To most observers, the Morgan head was a refreshing relief from the tired seated design.
Artist George Morgan came to the United States in 1876 from England. He was only 30 years old at the time, but he was already an accomplished engraver and came highly recommended when the Mint selected him to join the engraving staff in Philadelphia. His first assignment was to redesign all of the nation’s silver coins, a task that he undertook with great enthusiasm.