Silver Commemoratives 1893 COLUMBIAN 50C MS

NGC Universal ID: BYGG

Coin Information

1893 COLUMBIAN 50C MS
Obverse
1893 COLUMBIAN 50C MS
Reverse
  • Category: Silver Commemoratives (1892-1954)
  • Mint: Philadelphia
  • Obverse Designer: Charles E. Barber
  • Reverse Designer: George T. Morgan
  • Composition: Silver
  • Fineness: 0.9
  • Weight: 12.5g
  • ASW: 0.3617oz
  • Melt Value: $11.10 (4/6/2025)
  • Diameter: 30.6mm
  • Edge: Reeded
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Grade Summary

View a summary of the NGC Price Guide, NGC Census, Auction Prices Realized and NGC Registry Scores for each grade.

1893 COLUMBIAN 50C MS
 
NGC Price Guide
NGC Census
Auction Prices Realized
NGC Registry Score
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PrAgGVGFVFXFXF+5050+5353+5555+5858+6060+6161+6262+6363+6464+6565+6666+6767+6868+6970
00000000000000000100010100010000000
54 63 72 81 81 85 85 85 88 94 97 102 110 127 134 147 169 212 229 262 300 375 443 579 822 1,307 1,626 2,263 3,425 5,749 6,454 7,863 10,262 15,059 27,671
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Description & Analysis

The 1892 and 1893 Columbian half dollars were the first commemorative coins issued by the United States. They were coined to commemorate the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This event, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was to be held in 1892. With the cost of the fair ballooning, an enterprising manager of the expo suggested that souvenir half dollars be produced and sold for $1 each to help cover the cost of the exposition. The bill to produce the coin was passed on August 5th of 1892 and called for the mintage of no more than 5 million half dollar coins.
 
The striking of these coins began with special proof issues on November 19th of 1892 to national fanfare. So great was the fervor that the company that produced the Remington typewriter paid an astounding $10,000 for the first coin struck, an amount equal to nearly a quarter of a million dollars today! However, these coins are not usually worth nearly that much today aside from the few survivors in very high grade. With a mintage of 950,000 in 1892 and a further 1,548,300 produced in 1893, the Columbian Exposition Half Dollar is the most common type of the entire classic commemorative series.

 

1893 Columbian Half Dollar

According to the NGC Price Guide, the estimated value of an 1893 Half Dollar in Mint State (MS) is between $30 to $21,000 in the current market.

Price Guide

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Census

NGC Grade Summary
  • Total Graded: 7098
  • Low Grade: PrAg
  • Average Grade: 62
  • High Grade: 68
Created with Highcharts 5.0.145137675692637720049621259101115922203764215512PrAgGVGFVF404550535558606162636465666768050010001500200025003000
NGC Census Detail
1893 COLUMBIAN 50C MS DPL Last updated 04/02/2025
 
BASE
TOTAL
 
PrAgGVGFVF4045505355586061626364656667686970 TOTAL
0000000000001011010000 4
0000000000000000000000 0
0000000000000000000000 0
0000000000000000000000 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 4
0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%25%0%25%25%0%25%0%0%0%0%
NGC US Coin Census >

NGC Registry

NGC Registry Score
1893 COLUMBIAN 50C MS DPL
 
BASE
PrAgGVGFVF4045505355586061626364656667686970
54 63 72 81 81 85 85 85 94 102 127 147 212 262 375 579 1,307 2,263 5,749 7,863 15,059 27,671 
57 66 75 81 82 85 85 88 97 110 134 169 229 300 443 822 1,626 3,425 6,454 10,262 19,263 29,055 
85 88 97 110 134 169 229 300 443 822 1,626 3,425 6,454 10,262 
85 91 99 119 140 190 245 337 511 1,064 1,944 4,587 7,158 12,660