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Issue RecordWORKHORSEPhiladelphia89.24% Silver1 of 39 issues
1831 Capped Bust, lettered edge Half Dollar
One of the two dates whose high-grade tail is unmistakably a hoard signature: 750 estimated in 60-or-better and 50 in 65-or-better, against 100 and 7 for 1819.
1831 · Capped Bust, lettered edge Half DollarBIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE, DÉPARTEMENT DES MONNAIES, MÉDAILLES ET ANTIQUES · PUBLIC DOMAIN — VERIFIED PER FILE ON WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (LICENSESHORTNAME “PUBLIC DOMAIN”, NO RESTRICTIONS, CREDITED TO THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE), 2026-08-24.
02
The numbers, and what kind of numbers they are
Every figure carries its evidence class. Press a class to open the record behind it — what it rests on, by what method, and what the series says you should not conclude from it.
RECORDED DELIVERY
5,873,660
The Mint recorded what the Chief Coiner DELIVERED in a calendar year, not what it struck bearing a date. Where the registry combines years, the split is a reconstruction and the class says so.
DATED ATTRIBUTION
5,873,660
What the trade assigns to coins bearing this date. A modern allocation by an outside authority, not a federal record.
ESTIMATED SURVIVORS
9,000
An estimate of how many still exist in any grade, not a count of coins anyone has seen. Thirteen of this series' thirty-nine issues carry no census at all and show none.
Provenance · RECORDED DELIVERY
FIGURE5,873,660
CLASSOBSERVED — read directly from the document
LOCATORp.2
METHODOne of the two dates whose high-grade tail is unmistakably a hoard signature: 750 estimated in 60-or-better and 50 in 65-or-better, against 100 and 7 for 1819.
CAVEATThe Mint recorded what the Chief Coiner DELIVERED in a calendar year, not what it struck bearing a date. Where the registry combines years, the split is a reconstruction and the class says so.
Provenance · DATED ATTRIBUTION
FIGURE5,873,660
CLASSESTIMATED — a third party's estimate, attributed
SOURCEPCGS CoinFacts ↗
ATTRIBUTED TOPCGS CoinFacts
METHODOne of the two dates whose high-grade tail is unmistakably a hoard signature: 750 estimated in 60-or-better and 50 in 65-or-better, against 100 and 7 for 1819.
CAVEATWhat the trade assigns to coins bearing this date. A modern allocation by an outside authority, not a federal record.
Provenance · ESTIMATED SURVIVORS
FIGURE9,000
CLASSESTIMATED — a third party's estimate, attributed
SOURCEPCGS CoinFacts ↗
METHOD750 estimated in mint state · 50 at MS65 or better · rarity R-3.2 across all grades
CAVEATAn estimate of how many still exist in any grade, not a count of coins anyone has seen. Thirteen of this series' thirty-nine issues carry no census at all and show none.
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Specifications
SpecificationValue
DENOMINATIONHalf Dollar
DESIGNERRobert Scot (Flowing Hair and Heraldic Eagle) · Robert Scot with John Eckstein (Draped Bust) · John Reich (Capped Bust)
COMPOSITION89.24% silver, 10.76% copper — 185⅝ grains of pure silver in 208 grains of standard silver
WEIGHT13.48 g
SILVER CONTENT0.38672 ozt
DIAMETERNot fixed by statute. The Act of April 2, 1792 specifies weight and fineness and says nothing about diameter; surviving coins run to roughly 32–33 mm.
EDGELettered — FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR
MINTPhiladelphia only — no branch mint existed until 1838
MINT MARKNone. No early half dollar carries a mint mark.
DIE MARRIAGESCapped Bust, lettered edge
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The primary record
Every document behind the figures above. Where OunceDesk holds a copy, the row opens it.
Report of the Director of the Mint for calendar 1831
Held in the Archive · behind recorded delivery
Held in the Archive · behind recorded delivery
PCGS CoinFacts
External authority — not held by OunceDesk · behind dated attribution
External authority — not held by OunceDesk · behind dated attribution
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