50 Cents "Capped Bust Half Dollar" · “Capped Bust Half Dollar”

The Capped Bust Half Dollar

For nearly thirty years this was the largest silver coin most Americans ever held — yet many of them barely circulated. Banks treated half dollars like ingots, stacking them in vaults and passing them between each other instead of spending them. That quirk is why a coin struck before the Civil War can still turn up looking almost new.