Printable Catalog with Mintage Statistics for Items Designed and Minted by Daniel Carr / Moonlight Mint.

“1891” Columbian Half – Production Blog

Columbian Half Dollars were originally minted in 1892 and 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. They circulated widely as legal tender.
None were ever minted with an “1891” date. All depicted the sailing ship and globes on one side and the head of Columbus on the other.

The “1891” fantasy version is struck over genuine silver Columbian half dollars of 1892 and 1893.

The sailing ship design is retained (with some changes to the text), while the head of Columbus is over-struck as either of these two types:

A Spanish Crest (representing the European view of Columbus’ expedition);

A skull and cross-bones (representing the darker side of the result of Columbus’ expedition).

For the 2023 Denver Coin Expo (Ship/Pillars) version, see that section on this page:

http://www.moonlightmint.com/other.htm .

NOTE: These are NOT endorsed by the US Treasury. Defacing of US coins is legal so long as the defacement isn't for fraudulent purposes.

Production listed in chronological order - newest production at top, oldest production at bottom.

Current Status:

Production with Die Pairs 1 and 2 is in progress.

Die Pair	Quantity Struck	Issue Price	Notes
Die Pair 1 ”1891” Spanish Crest	105 (final) high-grade: 105	$95 (high-grade)	First produced October, 2023. All are over-struck on 90% silver US Mint Columbian Half Dollars that were minted from 1892 to 1893.
Die Pair 1 Semi Proof-Like High Grade
Die Pair 2 ”1891” Skull & Cross	93 (final) high-grade: 93	$95 (high-grade)	First produced October, 2023. All are over-struck on 90% silver US Mint Columbian Half Dollars that were minted from 1892 to 1893. Four were multi-over-struck with secondary strike(s) off-center. Two of those were first struck with the Spanish Crest die, and them the Pirate Skull die.
Die Pair 2 Semi Proof-Like High Grade