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Issue RecordWORKHORSEPhiladelphia89.24% Silver1 of 39 issues
1835 Capped Bust, lettered edge Half Dollar
Robert Maskell Patterson takes office and reports that “new machines are nearly completed by which these operations will be executed with steam power.” The series has one year left.
1835 · 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
5,352,006
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
5,352,006
What the trade assigns to coins bearing this date. A modern allocation by an outside authority, not a federal record.
ESTIMATED SURVIVORS
6,000
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
FIGURE5,352,006
CLASSOBSERVED — read directly from the document
LOCATORp.5
METHODRobert Maskell Patterson takes office and reports that “new machines are nearly completed by which these operations will be executed with steam power.” The series has one year left.
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
FIGURE5,352,006
CLASSESTIMATED — a third party's estimate, attributed
SOURCEPCGS CoinFacts ↗
ATTRIBUTED TOPCGS CoinFacts
METHODRobert Maskell Patterson takes office and reports that “new machines are nearly completed by which these operations will be executed with steam power.” The series has one year left.
CAVEATWhat the trade assigns to coins bearing this date. A modern allocation by an outside authority, not a federal record.
Provenance · ESTIMATED SURVIVORS
FIGURE6,000
CLASSESTIMATED — a third party's estimate, attributed
SOURCEPCGS CoinFacts ↗
METHOD275 estimated in mint state · 9 at MS65 or better · rarity R-3.8 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 1835
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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Hard Money. Hard Numbers. · Not investment advice. Some links pay us a commission — disclosures. Affiliate economics never determine research conclusions or rankings. © 2026 OunceDesk. Every figure classed OBSERVED / DERIVED / ESTIMATED / SPECULATIVE.