It was the beginning of 1861 and late in January when William A. Elmore resigned his position as superintendent of the New Orleans Mint.  It would be nearly two months until Confederate officials took control, but in the meantime the state of Louisiana continued to strike coinage from the cache of bullion and dies that were unsecured by the federal government.

     As the Confederate movement grew, so did their desire for independent coinage.  Steps were being taken to continue producing coins at both the New Orleans and Dahlonega mints, but the Confederacy encountered numerous obstacles to their plan.  The ability to produce working dies and possession of enough bullion were the immediate obstacles but ultimately the problem of invading armies from the north would ensure the Confederacy never had its own coinage.  Printing was a simpler task  and the Confederacy produced currency instead.

     Though no large quantity of coins was ever produced, the Confederate treasury secretary Christopher Memminger, empowered the superintendent William A. Elmore to produce a half dollar die locally.  Elmore turned to engraver August Petersen who is credited with producing the Confederate half obverse pictured here.

     The design is centered around a 7 stared shield and topped by a Liberty cap which may be familiar to early copper and bust gold collectors.  The shield is surrounded by a wreath of cotton and a sugar cane.  Labeled half dollar and inscripted the Confederate States of America, this die would be used to create some of the most valuable and notorious coins of all time. The die Petersen produced was used as the obverse and coupled with an obverse 1861 seated Liberty half die (used for the reverse).

     During one auspicious day late in April 1861 four coins known today as originals were coined on a screw press by Chief coiner Benjamin F. Taylor.  Taylor would control one of the originals and the original die until 1879.  The other 3 coins were distributed to Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, Dr E. Ames and John Leonard Riddel  who were distinguished citizens of New Orleans.  All but the Taylor coin would disappear from the market for over 50 years.  Currently all are accounted for with one coin reported to have been found in circulation in New York.  Though acquired in 1880 it was held off the market until 1912.  The only original on the market in recent times was the one owned by John J. Ford Jr.   Ford, then a prominent dealer purchased the coin at the Metropolitan New York Numismatic Convention in the 60’s from another dealer who thought it was a restrike.  This coin thought to be the Jefferson Davis specimen was placed on the market by Ford in 1995 and displayed at the Atlanta ANA convention.  The asking price of 1 million was never met but substantial 6 figure offers were turned down.  This coin had been the subject of lengthy litigation involving Ford, Theodore Schnur the White Plains dealer he purchased it from, Alice Clark who had sold it to Schnur and Paul Franklin who astutely identified the coin as an original and encouraged Ford to purchase it.

     Benjamin Taylor, the Confederate coiner, would keep his coin, the dies, and their existence a secret for 18 years.  In 1879 Taylor had read an article in the Philadelphia Record titled The Craze for Coins.  The article touted the high prices being realized for coins and mentioned a dealer named Ebenezer Mason who was an important coin dealer in Philadelphia.  Taylor contacted Mason and supplied him with a tracing and collateral information surrounding the coin.  Once the coin’s authenticity was established, Mason would go on to publicize the coin and subsequently purchase it and the die from Taylor.  Mason would own the coin and die for only a short time.  In the summer of 1879 the items were sold to John Walter Scott who was both a coin dealer and publisher.  Scott decided to be creative with his investment, especially the dies and made plans to coin and market 500 silver restrikes.  He purchased 500 1861-O half dollars and ground off the reverses.  However, Scott was afraid the die might break during production.  As insurance he first used the die to produce 500 Scott store card tokens in white metal.  The white metal store cards referred to today as Scott Tokens were originally sold for 50 cents each. As pictured below the legend reads: 4 Originals struck by order of C.S.A. in New Orleans 1861.   *******Rev. same as U.S.(from original die: Scott).

     After completing this run he went on to strike the 500 silver restrikes on the ground down half dollars.  These coins were struck on a screw press.  The way these coins were manufactured and the storage of dies in New Orleans led to subtle but discernable differences between the originals and the restrikes.  First, the die had rusted while in the possession of Taylor and all restrikes have raised metal pimples on the surfaces.  In addition, the Seated Liberty designs were flattened as pressure was exerted to strike the Confederate design onto the ground planchet.  Finally due to the metal removal, restrikes are lighter than originals.

     Initially Scott offered the restrikes for $2 and sold about half or less on his first offering.  The coins remained in Scott’s inventory for many years and he gradually raised the price.  The die was defaced after production and sold for a paltry $50.   Perhaps Scott did not trust himself or more likely felt he needed to demonstrate that no future production would occur.  Either way, preserving the die intact by donating it to a museum would have seemed more sensible.

     These two restrikes have become the only way collectors can participate in the lure of the Confederate half dollar.  Both issues were struck from the original Confederate die and have an extremely limited mintage.  Coin collectors as well as those interested for other reasons – whether it be history, geography or politics are drawn to these coins and often collect them as a set.  Confederate issues include not only the half dollar, but an original cent of which 12 were minted and 3 different restrikes made of copper, silver, and gold.   In addition collectors may also focus on coinage between 1861 and 1865 and the numerous medals, tokens, and other memorabilia from the period. Demand has grown a great deal since 1879 and so have the prices.  The Redbook currently lists uncirculated silver restrikes for $6500 and uncirculated Scott Tokens for $2500.  All the major grading services except NGC grade and encapsulate these coins with the highest graded of either type being MS64.  Circulated examples are encountered less often than mintstate coins as they were produced specifically for collectors.

     Numismatics is intimately linked with social, economic and political events but no single issue embodies as rich a connection to our history as the Confederate half dollar.  From their birth during a revolution to the many collectors hungry for a link to the past, these coins are without a doubt, the best story in numismatics.

     For a complete and detailed dissertation on Confederate half dollars, call for a copy of Coin World’s three part article by William T. Gibbs or for information about buying or selling Confederate issues, please contact us at: