A decent mid-grade example of this scarcer date. The Mintage of U. S. Silver coin dropped precipitously in the early 1850’s due to the effect of the California Gold discovery of 1849/50. The quantity of Gold recovered was so large that it had the effect of altering the Gold vs. Silver price ratio, making Gold less valuable versus the price of Silver. The result was that two Standard Half Dollars were worth almost $1.04 in Gold, leading to mass melting and exporting of Silver coinage. That 4 Cents may not sound like much, but like the 1/4 Percent Interest banks could make by leaving their money overnight in the Federal Reserve during the late days of the 2008/9 Financial Crisis, it came with no risk, and a sure profit. “A bird in then hand …” as the old saying goes. The odd thing is that this situation then reversed itself dramatically when the Comstock Silver Boom hit a decade later, causing the value of Silver to drop so far that a Standard U. S. Silver Dollar became worth maybe 75 Cents in Gold. In any case, the Mintage of 1851 Halves at New Orleans was 1/6 the total of the previous year, and the survivorship even lower - PCGS CoinFacts estimates as low as 500 coins, or 1/10 of One percent. Very difficult to find except perhaps occasionally in the South, where more would have been put aside during the Civil War. This seems largely original however shows a series of light rim nicks - these would not likely show too egregiously once the coin was placed in an album page. Equivalent to what will normally certify VF-30, despite the Obverse being stronger than the Reverse. The WB-5 variety, which is scarce however no premium attached as the date itself is scarce.