J-293 50c 1862 Half Dollar, PCGS PF64. R-5. This rare, Civil War dated silver proof pattern half dollar, found in an OGH (old, green holder), is a toned piece with dark fields and highlighted devices. Libertys drapery, shield, and portions of her face and head are copper color, while the field is a mixture of blue-grey, with highlights of russet, copper, grey, and green. The eagle is a silvery grey, and the field is predominantly tan with shades of brown and copper. The strike is sharp, as expected for a proof coin, and, of course, no wear is seen in keeping with the mint state grade.

The obverse shows the regular Seated Liberty design for the year. It shows Liberty 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 dated 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.

The reverse is similar to the regular design except the motto GOD OUR TRUST has been added to a scroll above the eagle.
According to the records of the United States Treasury Department, the first request for the recognition of God on coinage was made in a letter from the Reverend Mark Richards Watkinson of Ridlelyville, Pennsylvania on November 13, 1861 to Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary. You are about to submit your annual report to Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances, Watkinson said in the letter. One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form in our coins. This letter set off a series of events that caused an 1864 law to be passed allowing the In God We Trust motto to be placed on coins and the 1865 law that mandated it. God Our Trust was one of the rejected mottos. The J-293 pattern has an R5 rarity rating, which indicates that 31 to 75 pieces are known to exist today.

This specimen is among a small group of pieces that are the finest known. In its population report, PCGS shows 9 in PF64 with none better.