1851-O Seated Liberty Half- Dime

Perhaps I'm a bit biased. It's possible that I have a very extensive collection of exquisite, vintage coins BUT, all of them are Philadelphia minted. Whatever the case, when I see an actual letter instead of no mint mark, I smile, just a little. It ain't no beauty, by a long shot, but, there it is. That unmistakeable New Orleans mint mark, just above what's left of the ribbon. And so, I have the O. Not in the condition I'd dream of, but, not too bad for Great Grandpa Israel's Mason jar collection.. Heavily circulated, only the outline of Liberty is visible. The shield is completely occluded. All lettering and the date are clear to see. On the reverse, the wreath is very much worn.. There's pitting on both sides.

. I"m working on building on to my 4-generation coin collection but, as a disabled veteran on a fixed income, am doing so, slowly as I can afford to. There are so many coins, such as the 1909-S Indian Head, that I'll likely never be able to afford. I'm 54 now. This collection is so precious, to me, because my great-grandfather, grandfather and love of my life--my dad, all built upon it. From the time I was 5 years old, I would go through the old ammo can, carefully picking out each piece and admiring the stunning artwork of the Standing Liberty quarters and all the old coins; this resulted in my father gifting me this collection several years before he passed away, in 2019. I miss him, so much but, when I'm in the collection looking through all of the items, I can remember sitting in the middle of our living room floor, hearing him speak of some "lost" half dimes and Seated Liberty Dimes. It would be three years after his death, when organizing my garage and the belongings from the old house, that I'd stumble upon another ammo can--one that I had no knowledge of and, one that he'd hidden so well that, even he, had forgotten where it was! I know he's looking down upon me as I found the two small shoeboxes containing amazing coins that I'd never laid eyes upon.