1859-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar

While the 1859-O Liberty Seated U.S. half dollar was being produced at the New Orleans Mint, tensions were growing over the slavery issue. In October of 1859, John Brown led a party of about a dozen whites and five blacks to Harper`s Ferry, Virginia, where they took over the town and the federal arsenal - hoping to incite a widespread insurrection by slaves. But the raiders were captured by federal troops commanded by Robert E. Lee, and John Brown was hanged.