Lot 538
1820. Square base, no knob 2, large date. Overton-106, Rarity 1. PCGS graded VF-25. Nicely toned with the deeper area offset by light accents of silvery gray on the star-tops and design high points. Mintage declined somewhat in 1820 when only 751,122 half dollars were minted. Eight die varieties are recorded for the year. The 1820 half dollars are grouped into broad categories by the type of "2" punch used to punch-in the date. The very basic distinction is the curl base or square base of the numeral. The square base 2 punch is also subdivided into knobbed top or no knob on top.
School history texts are often silent on the United States' first true economic Depression caused by loose money, misallocated spending on roads, canals, and real estate speculation after the war with Great Britain ended in 1815. What is now called the Panic of 1819 in the more studious history books scarcely describes the intense pain felt by speculators, bankers and the general working man after the boom ended. That a large percentage of the population still farmed protected them from the harsher aspects that town people experienced. Perhaps this decline in Half Dollar production, which at the time was the hardest working silver denomination and a large export item, is the result of that almost-forgotten Hard Times episode (PCGS # 6123) .
Estimated Value $100 - 110.
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| Realized $247 |
