Start of Mardi Gras
Today is the start of Mardi Gras for 2016.
The capped bust half dollar above is 1827, the first year Mardi Gras was celebrated in New Orleans.
This is one i won that may have escaped dipping or cleaning, it retains original mint lustre
around the peripherals, (the stars, date and letters) and dirt is still trapped in the fine lines of the shield on the reverse which would make it worth twice as much as the 150 or so i got it for, if i send it in for certification and they assign it a numbered grade instead of xf or so 'details'
This was the largest silver coin minted from 1807 to 1839 in the USA, due to no silver dollars being minted, most were kept in banks to back up currency notes.