1/2 Dollar Sesquicentennial of American Independence

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.