1846 Tall Date

The 1846 Tall Date is the later of two principal date logotypes used at Philadelphia during a delivery that totaled 2,210,000 half dollars across both varieties. Production opened with a Medium Date punch carried over from prior-year practice, and somewhere into the run the engraving department swapped in a fresh logotype with visibly taller, heavier numerals. Why the change happened is not documented in surviving Mint correspondence, but the practical effect is clear: the Tall Date represents a smaller share of the year's output, since it entered the press after a sizable portion of the mintage had already been struck. The Wiley-Bugert reference treats both as distinct, collectible varieties, and specialists who pursue the Seated half by year almost always set them aside as separate slots in the album.

Strike on 1846 Philadelphia halves is the steady, mid-grade workmanship typical for the period, with occasional softness at the head, the shield lines, and the eagle's leg feathers where die pressure tapered. Grade distribution sits heavily in the VG-through-XF band, with AU coins available to patient buyers and uncirculated survivors thinning quickly above MS62. The attribution diagnostic is the date logotype itself. Tall Date digits measure roughly 2.0 to 2.1 millimeters tall against the Medium Date's 1.7 to 1.8, and the difference reads most plainly on the 1 and the 4, where the Tall Date 1 stands noticeably above the base of the rock and the 4 carries a thicker, heavier crossbar. The diagnostic is readable on any coin grading Good or better, and side-by-side comparison with a known Medium Date makes attribution unambiguous. Wiley-Bugert also notes that some Tall Date dies share the 6-over-horizontal-6 repunching seen earlier in the year.

For a year-set or variety collector, the 1846 Tall Date is a reasonable mid-tier acquisition: less common than the Medium Date, but not a date-set obstacle in the way conditional rarities or low-mintage New Orleans issues can be. Most buyers settle on a problem-free VF or XF where the digit height is plainly readable and pricing stays in line with the date's relative scarcity; AU coins demand more searching, and Mint State examples reward patience. For background on design evolution, date logotype changes, and mint sequencing across the type, see the Seated Liberty Half Dollar series history.