1897 50C, DCAM PR68+ DCAM Certification #25633455, PCGS #96544

Ron Guth

The reported mintage of Proof 1897 Half Dollars is 731 pieces.  PCGS alone has certified neartly half of that figure, so we have a good sampling of grade distributions.  PR64 seems to be the most common grade.  Cameo examples represent slightly over a third of the total population, though that may increase over time because PCGS did not always recognize Cameos and Deep Cameos (which means that there may be some of both hiding in the non-Cameo total).  Approximately one in ten Proof 1897 Half Dollars is a Deep Cameo.  The quality of this date is exceptional, resulting in more PR68's of this date than any other.