Product code: 1893 Columbian half dollar selling cut out ships
Specifications
Type: Commemorative Half Dollar
Year: 1893
Face Value: $0.50
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
Silver Weight: .36169 oz.
Total Weight: 12.50 grams
The US minted the 1893 Columbian half dollar as a commemorative coin. On the obverse side of the coin there is a bust of Christopher Columbus, and on the reverse side there is an image of Columbus' famous ship the Santa Maria above two hemispheres. The date selling 1492 is inscribed on the reverse side of the coin. This is the date that Columbus arrived in the New World.
Originally each coin was sold for $1 at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Many coins went unsold so they were later put into circulation or melted down for their silver value.