Is this coin real One side has shield-confederate states of America half doll Other side no picture just words CSA New Orleans 1861 4 originals struck by order?

Answer 1

Very unlikely. The CSA struck a small quantity of half dollars using blanks made from smoothed-down US Coins. All have been accounted for.

However a number of companies have produced replica CSA coins and bills as collectors' items. The quality is often quite good and they are hard to distinguish from the real thing even though they were never intended to be resold as counterfeits. Replicas made since the 1970s are required to carry the word COPY in small letters, usually worked into the design so as not to be too conspicuous, so look for that marking. Unfortunately replicas made before the 1970s weren't subject to that law and many aren't marked.