1878-S 50C (Regular Strike)

P. Scott Rubin: The 1878-S Half Dollar is a rare coin with an original mintage of only 12,000. 1878 was the last year in which Liberty Seated Half Dollars were made in large numbers, 1,377,600 were minted in Philadelphia and 62,000 were minted in Carson City that year. From 1879 to 1890 the mintage of Half Dollars ranged from a low of 4,400 to a high of 12,001, in the last year of Seated Liberty Half Dollar coinage 1891 the mintage was 200,000. All of the Half Dollars from 1879 to 1891 were struck only in Philadelphia.

It must have been evident to collectors that 1878-S Half Dollars were scarce because a larger than normal percentage of survivors are in high grades. The first auction of an 1878-S Half Dollar I am aware of took place in 1882 and since that time slightly less than half of all auction appearances of an 1878-S Half Dollar have been in About Uncirculated or better condition. One should not take this to mean that most of the 12,000 issued were saved. It is quite the opposite, very few of the original mintage has survived. It is estimated that no more than sixty examples of the 1878-S Half Dollar still exist in all grades.