Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Dollar Sesquicentennial of American Independence
| Issuer | United States Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ✿LIBERTY✿ IN GOD WE TRUST UNITED·STATES·OF·AMERICA |
| Reverse description | A detailed effigy of the Liberty Bell dominates the central field, suspended from its wooden yoke and crossbeam, rendered with fine detail including the characteristic crack and inscribed text on the bell's surface. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is engraved on the beam above. The commemorative legend SESQUICENTENNIAL OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE curves along the upper periphery, while HALF DOLLAR arcs along the lower border with central dot separators. The dual dates 1776 and 1926 are positioned in the lower field to either side of the bell, referencing the 150th anniversary of American independence. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Congress authorized this coin in March 1926 to coincide with the Philadelphia World's Fair celebrating 150 years of independence, but the fair itself was a financial and organizational disaster — attendance fell catastrophically short of projections, and the exposition nearly bankrupted its organizers. The Mint struck just over a million halves, far more than the market could absorb, and the majority were eventually melted.
Surviving examples almost universally show flatness on the high points due to a design that was simply incompatible with the striking pressure available at Philadelphia — a documented production problem, not a grading artifact.