1887

The 1887 half dollar sits deep in the Philadelphia low-mintage stretch that defines the closing years of the Seated series. Business-strike production at the parent mint totaled 5,000 pieces for the calendar year, with an additional 710 proofs struck for collector sets, and the combined 5,000 figure placed the 1887 among the lower outputs of the twelve-year run. The mechanism behind these numbers was the Bland-Allison Act of February 1878, which redirected Treasury silver into a monthly stream of new Morgan dollars and effectively starved the smaller silver denominations of production allocation. With Morgan dollar coinage absorbing the Mint's silver budget month after month, and with little commercial demand for additional half dollars in eastern circulation, Philadelphia struck just enough Seated halves each year to honor proof set obligations and a thin slice of trade requirement. Survivors of the 1887 carry the same character as their 1885 and 1886 siblings: produced for the cabinet, not the pocket, with many high-grade examples preserved by contemporary numismatists who recognized the scarcity in real time.

Authentication on this date deserves close attention because the 1887 business strike is routinely confused with the 1887 proof. The business strike was struck with the standard 1887 date logotype, with the 7 showing a flat-topped serif and the 8s rendering full and rounded; date position sits slightly low and centered. Many genuine business strikes show prooflike or semi-prooflike fields because the dies were used so sparingly that mirror polish carried into the early impressions, this is a known feature of the 1879-1890 Philadelphia halves and is not in itself evidence of proof origin. The 1887 proof (710 pieces) is distinguished by squared rims, wire-rimmed and deeply reflective fields, and frosted devices showing cameo contrast; a genuine business strike will display flat radial flow lines under magnification rather than the watery mirror of a proof. Weight should be 12.50 grams on .900 fine silver with a 30.6 millimeter reeded edge.

For date collectors, the 1887 is a core piece of the late-Philadelphia run. Pricing tracks the broader 1879-1890 group rather than mintage rank within it, with circulated coins genuinely scarce and Mint State survivors leading market interest. For more on this design, see the Seated Liberty Half Dollar series history.