USA, 1861-O 50 CENTS/HALF DOLLAR. CONFEDERATE ISSUE - BISECTED DATE, WB-103.

New Orleans mint. Obv: Seated Liberty looking left, holding liberty cap on stick and a shield, 1861 in exergue, bisecting die crack in date. Rev: Eagle holding arrows and olive branch in talons, O below. KM. A68. Good Extremely Fine - Almost Uncirculated.

The year 1861 was a time of upheaval for the New Orleans Mint. It began under US control, but Louisiana's secession in early 1861 led to a brief period of state-run coinage. With Louisiana joining the Confederacy, production continued until the mint ran out of blanks.

This seemingly minor detail, a die crack running from Liberty's nose, holds immense historical significance. Early in the Confederacy's existence, four half dollars were struck using a proposed new reverse die paired with a standard US obverse die. This specific die had the telltale crack.

Further production by the Confederacy used the same cracked obverse die alongside a different reverse die. This, along with the later die state of the crack, confirms Confederate minting beyond the initial four coins. Extensive research by Wiley and Bugert identified specific die pairings as definitive proof of Confederate coinage.

The Confederacy's official coin production was minimal, limited to a small number of cents (mostly restrikes) that never saw full circulation. Therefore, these half dollars with the die crack stand as exceptional historical artifacts, minted during the Confederacy's infancy in the spring of 1861.