1893-O 50C XF45 Certification #26310142, PCGS #6466

David Akers

The 1893-O is scarce, but not really rare in the lower Uncirculated grades. That is, in Choice Uncirculated or lower grades, specimens can generally be located with a little searching. However, in Gem Uncirculated condition, the situation changes dramatically and only a very few such specimens are known...

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Ron Guth

David Akers' assessment of this date was correct in that Gems are truly scarce.  Perhaps a few more individual examples have shown up since he wrote about this date, but no super-Gems (MS-67 or better) have appeared in the intervening years.  The PCGS CoinFacts Condition Census is evenly split between MS65 and MS66 examples (with the latter enumerated above).

Like many coins from the New Orleans Mint, these are sometimes prone to a weak strike.  Flatness can occur on Liberty's lips, forecurls, and along the hairline around her face.  On the reverse, the viewer's right side of the shield and adjacent feathers can be soft, as well as the talon and tail feathers on the same side (the Price/Duckor PCGS MS66 is one such example).  Some examples show a strong strike, but none are fully struck (one of the best-detailed 1893-O Half Dollars is the PCGS MS66 from the Heritage 2/2015 sale, lot 3133).