1861-O Seated 50C (1861-O Half Dollar) ANACS G4. This Civil War dated, New Orleans Mint 1861-O Half Dollar is graded Good 4, a collectable grade. The coin is appropriately graded in that all the letters and numbers on the coin aside from LIBERTY show on both sides, and the rims are acceptable for the grade. The devices are lightly toned and the fields are darker, especially towards the rims.

Authorized to produce gold and silver, the New Orleans Mint struck quarter eagles and dimes in 1839. It operated from 1838 to 1909. In that time period 427 million silver and gold coins with the O mintmark were coined. By the mid 1850’s denominations made in New Orleans included three cent silver pieces, half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver dollars, gold dollars, quarter eagles, three dollar pieces, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. The first deposit was of Mexican dollars which amounted to more than 32,400 dollars. The first coins struck were Liberty Seated Dimes. Each year between the beginning of August and the end of November, the mint closed because of the annual outbreak of yellow fever.

The 1861-O coins were struck by three different authorities, the federal government, the state of Louisiana, and the CSA. However, it is impossible to tell which coin was struck by which authority.