1889 50C, CAM PR65CAM Certification #13276446, PCGS #86450

Ron Guth

Proof 1889 Half Dollars are decidedly scarce thanks to a small mintage of only 711 coins (a slight drop from that of the previous year).  This was in the context of a mintage of only 12,000 strikes for circulation -- clearly the focus at the Philadelphia Mint was on the production of Silver Dollars and other denominations.  Of the Proof 1889 Half Dollars that have survived, most are of average quality (PR63 or so) and any that are PR66 or better are very scarce.  For some reason, the percentage of Cameo Proofs dropped this year and Deep Cameo Proofs are practically unheard-of.