The pre 1853 pieces are much tougher than the later ones. The reason for this was the weight reduction that took place in 1853. All the gold coming out of California caused the price of silver to rise in terms of gold. By 1853 the silver in a fifty cent piece was worth close to 53 cents. Then after the weight reduction a pre-1853 was worth close to fifty five cents as compared to the post 1853 halves. Yhis resulted an a great deal of pre-1853 silver being withdrawn from circulation and melted down. So mintage figures for the earlier coins can't be trusted.