1858 Seated Liberty Half Dol. 0

[kamipoppins]

Does anyone know anything about this coin? My mom has a whole box full of old coins that were left to her when my grandparents passed away and this is one of them. Thank you in advance! (There are TONS of other silver coins too.)

[Fenntucky Mike]

Looks authentic, possibly cleaned. Below is a link to NGC's Coin Explorer for this coin.

https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/united-states/half-dollars/seated-liberty-half-dollars-1839-1891/16294/1858-o-50c-ms/

Not a bad looking coin, could be worth up to a couple hundred if I'm wrong and it's not cleaned

[Coinbuf]

Welcome to the forum, I agree with Mike's assessment, the coin looks to be AU details but possibly with some marks from being wiped at some time.   This coin is a Seated Liberty half dollar, this design was used on the half dollar starting in 1839 until 1891.   The front of the coin, called the obverse, stayed the same but the reverse side had a few design changes during the time it was in production.   The "O" under the eagle on the reverse is the mintmark and shows that this coin was produced at the New Orleans mint.

I want to take this opportunity to strongly urge you not try and improve any of the coins, many people that have recently inherited old coins mistakenly think that shinny is better, in the case of coins that is incorrect.   Many go to youtube and find videos on how to clean coins, however what those videos do not say is that you're much more likely to damage and in many cases strip the coin of all its numismatic value using the acidic and harsh cleaning methods these videos recommend.   Handle the coins by the edge only and just leave them as they are.

If your intent is to sell these coins then I suggest that you find a coin shop or three close to you and ask the store owners to provide you with an estimate of what each would pay for the coins.    Keep in mind that the owner will not pay you full retail value as he then needs to mark the coins up if you sell to him.   You do not have to sell them to any shop, but that should give you a ballpark idea of the value.   If you plan to keep the coins then there are several inexpensive ways to store them and keep them protected from any damage in the future.

We are certainly happy to help you figure some basic values also, keeping in mind that we only have photos to judge the coins which is far less perfect than seeing them in hand.  Best if you sort the coins into types, cents, dimes, etc... if you have access to Excel you could build a simple spreadsheet with basic information like dates, mintmarks, denominations, and post that first for some insight on which coins are likely to be most valuable.   You might also want to see if your local library has a copy of "A Guide Book Of United States Coins" commonly called the red book.   This will give a brief description of the coins and has some pricing information, do not rely on the prices as they are often not relevant as the market changes during the year after the book is published.   But those prices are helpful to you to be able to understand which coins may be the most valuable.

[kamipoppins]

On 2/20/2022 at 8:12 AM, Coinbuf said:

Welcome to the forum, I agree with Mike's assessment, the coin looks to be AU details but possibly with some marks from being wiped at some time.   This coin is a Seated Liberty half dollar, this design was used on the half dollar starting in 1839 until 1891.   The front of the coin, called the obverse, stayed the same but the reverse side had a few design changes during the time it was in production.   The "O" under the eagle on the reverse is the mintmark and shows that this coin was produced at the New Orleans mint.

I want to take this opportunity to strongly urge you not try and improve any of the coins, many people that have recently inherited old coins mistakenly think that shinny is better, in the case of coins that is incorrect.   Many go to youtube and find videos on how to clean coins, however what those videos do not say is that you're much more likely to damage and in many cases strip the coin of all its numismatic value using the acidic and harsh cleaning methods these videos recommend.   Handle the coins by the edge only and just leave them as they are.

If your intent is to sell these coins then I suggest that you find a coin shop or three close to you and ask the store owners to provide you with an estimate of what each would pay for the coins.    Keep in mind that the owner will not pay you full retail value as he then needs to mark the coins up if you sell to him.   You do not have to sell them to any shop, but that should give you a ballpark idea of the value.   If you plan to keep the coins then there are several inexpensive ways to store them and keep them protected from any damage in the future.

We are certainly happy to help you figure some basic values also, keeping in mind that we only have photos to judge the coins which is far less perfect than seeing them in hand.  Best if you sort the coins into types, cents, dimes, etc... if you have access to Excel you could build a simple spreadsheet with basic information like dates, mintmarks, denominations, and post that first for some insight on which coins are likely to be most valuable.   You might also want to see if your local library has a copy of "A Guide Book Of United States Coins" commonly called the red book.   This will give a brief description of the coins and has some pricing information, do not rely on the prices as they are often not relevant as the market changes during the year after the book is published.   But those prices are helpful to you to be able to understand which coins may be the most valuable.

Thank you SO much for your help! I will definitely start a spreadsheet and upload it for more advice as I sort through them. A friend of mine has the 2020 edition of the book, does that matter much? 

[Coinbuf]

Any version of the red book can help you with the basic info, obviously the pricing will be out of date but that is not a problem for your needs to start with.