1962 Bashlow CSA Restrike, Brass Half Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$372 MS66 06-07-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

The 1961 Bashlow Restrike of the Confederate Half Dollar in brass was produced by Robert Bashlow as part of his centennial restrike program, extending the multi-metal concept from the Confederate cent to the more famous half dollar design. Using transfer dies created from the original Confederate reverse die engraved by A.H.M. Peterson at the New Orleans Mint, Bashlow produced half dollar restrikes in several metals for sale to collectors commemorating the Civil War centennial. The brass composition gives this half dollar restrike a distinctive golden appearance that sets it apart from both the silver originals and the earlier Scott silver-over-half-dollar restrikes of 1879. The Confederate shield and wreath reverse, featuring agricultural products symbolic of the Southern economy, appears with good definition in the brass alloy, while the obverse carries Bashlow’s own design elements rather than the original Seated Liberty federal obverse used in the 1861 originals. The Bashlow Confederate half dollar restrikes serve as accessible representatives of what is arguably the most famous Confederate coin design. With only four original 1861 specimens known and the 500 Scott restrikes commanding increasingly high prices, Bashlow’s twentieth-century productions offer collectors the opportunity to own a piece bearing the historic Confederate half dollar reverse design at a fraction of the cost of earlier issues.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Bashlow brass half dollar restrikes were produced in limited quantities during the 1961 centennial program. They appear at auction periodically and are among the more affordable Confederate half dollar design pieces available.