Ron Guth:
The 1844-O Half Dime has the third lowest mintage of any date/mintmark combination of Half Dimes in the 1840's. It is difficult to locate an 1844-O Half Dime in any grade, but especially so in Mint State. The few examples that are known in Uncirculated condition are most often found in MS62. The finest example is a single PCGS MS65, which is unusual because virtually every other date has examples in MS66 to MS68.
Many examples show weakness on the high points, often on the leaves of the wreath on the reverse. A weak strike is typical of most coins that came out of tne New Orleans mint, but the Half Dimes, because they are struck with a small die, are usually struck better than larger denominations.