Hello, This week instead of doing a rerun like my lazy ways almost had me doing, I actually received a question from a happy-go-lucky emailer, so I can answer that, instead of doing something from the past.

This person, Lenard Blair, gave me quite possibly, the best question I've ever received in my entire life because I pretty much knew the answer without looking it up. But, I did get quite a bit of information from the Internet too, I confess.

His question was for me to let him know about an 1823 50 cent piece. This is what I found on the subject.

The mint was Philadelphia and the weight of the coin is 13.48 grams. The designer was John Reich. The coin's content is 89.2% silver, 10.8% copper.

Now, I usually tell details about what the coin might be worth in various conditions but, I've copied and am pasting some different information that will help you to see what kind of condition your coin might be in.

I will tell you quickly that I believe these can range in value from $45 to about $110, depending.

Here is that information about how to tell the conditions. G4 Good :

LIBERTY discernible on head band.

VG8 Very Good: Minimum of three letters in LIBERTY must be clear.

F12 Fine: LIBERTY complete.

VF20 Very Fine: LIBERTY is sharp. Shoulder clasp is clear.

EF40 Extremely Fine: LIBERTY sharp and strong. Hair details show.

AU50 About Uncirculated: Slight trace of wear on cap, cheek, and hair above the forehead, claws, wing tops, and the head.

MS60 Uncirculated: No trace of wear. Light blemishes.

MS63 Select Uncirculated: Some distracting contact marks or blemishes in prime.

I hope this information helped and thanks for writing to me. I noticed that I got a few questions and I will be answering those in the upcoming issues of the paper.

Here is a picture of the coin.

See you next time and thanks for reading Coin Corner.

Oh, we finally updated my picture but I really don't like it too well. Now you kind of know what I look like these days. I'm sure you are thrilled.