1800 H10C Libekty XF40 Certification #20256850, PCGS #4265

Ron Guth

The 1800 LIBEKTY Half Dime was created when a defective punch was used for the R of LIBERTY.  This was most likely an exercise in frugality, as the Mint in 1800 was underfunded, over budget, and they used their dies and punches until they became completely unusable.  A similar situation occurred in 1796, when a defective B resulted in the LIKERTY variety.

40,000 Half Dimes were struck in 1800.  Of those, 16,000 have been attributed to the LIBEKTY variety and 24,000 to the "normal" date.  If this ratio were correct, one would expect the "normal" date to be 1.5 times as common as the LIBEKTY variety.  However, this is not the case, at least not according to the PCGS Population Report.  As of June 2011, PCGS reports having certified 256 of the "normal" date variety and only 50 of the LIBEKTY variety, thus making the LIBEKTY variety more than five times as rare as the "normal" date.  This is a fairly big difference that implies a flaw in the estimated mintage figures.  Current price guides value the two varieties almost exactly the same.

Mint State examples are very rare, with the highest population at the MS-64 level.  The finest example certified by PCGS is a single MS-66.