1839 Half Dollar - 1839 50C NGC MS61. This eye-appealing Seated Liberty 1839 Half Dollar is a lovely mixture of gun-metal blue and light rose-silver. Along with satiny mint luster that adds to the premium look of the coin, the obverse strike is bold. Full details are present on Libertys head and the centers of the stars. The surfaces are original, as attested to by its colors, and free of abrasion marks that require individual description. 

Starting with some of the 1839 issue, drapery was added to Libertys elbow. The extra drape of cloth extends down and forward from the elbow to the leg. While most later dates show drapery, a few do not.  In addition the rock on which Liberty rests is smaller than on the No Drapery coins, and the left edge of the stone is further from Star 1. 

Christian Gobrecht designed the Seated Liberty half dollar. The obverse depicts Liberty seated looking over her shoulder to the left. She balances the Union Shield inscribed LIBERTY with her right hand and holds a staff on which is placed a Phrygian cap in her left. There are seven stars to the left and six to the right interrupted by her head and the capped pole. The date is below. The reverse shows the heraldic eagle looking left. It is surrounded by the required inscription and the denomination written as HALF DOL. below. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides of the coin.

In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to William Kneass. After Kneass suffered a debilitating stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

In its population report, NGC shows 8 1839 With Drapery half dollars in MS61 condition.