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1793?1857 American coin worth 0.5 cents
Half cent
|
Value
| 0.5 cents or 0.005
US dollars
|
---|
Diameter
| 23.5 mm
|
---|
Thickness
| 2 mm
|
---|
Edge
|
- lettered (1793, 1797)
- plain (1794?1857)
- gripped (1797)
|
---|
Composition
| 100%
copper
|
---|
Years of minting
| 1793?1857
|
---|
|
|
Design
| Lady Liberty
with braided hair
|
---|
Designer
| Christian Gobrecht
|
---|
Design date
| 1840
|
---|
|
|
Design
| Denomination surrounded by a wreath
|
---|
Design date
| 1840
|
---|
Design discontinued
| 1857
|
---|
The
half cent
was the smallest denomination of
United States coin
ever minted. It was first minted in 1793 and last minted in 1857. It was minted with five different designs.
History
[
edit
]
First authorized by the
Coinage Act of 1792
on April 2, 1792,
[1]
the coin was produced in the United States from 1793 to 1857. The half-cent piece was made of 100%
copper
and half of a cent, or one two-hundredth of a dollar (five
milles
). It was slightly smaller than a modern
U.S. quarter
with diameters 22 mm (1793), 23.5 mm (1794?1836), and 23 mm (1840?1857).
[2]
They were all produced at the Philadelphia Mint.
The
Coinage Act of February 21, 1857
discontinued the half-cent and the similar
large cent
, and authorized the
small cent
(
Flying Eagle cent
).
Design varieties
[
edit
]
Liberty Cap (facing left)
Liberty Cap (facing right)
There are several different types of half cents:
There are no mint marks on any of the coins (all minted at the
Philadelphia Mint
) and the edges are plain on most half cents. On the 1793, 1794, and some 1795 coins and a variety of the 1797 coin, it was lettered
TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR
and another 1797 variety had a gripped, or milled, edge.
Mintage figures
[
edit
]
Liberty Cap, facing left
Liberty Cap, facing right
- 1794 ? 81,600
- 1795 ? 139,690
- 1796 ? 1,390
- 1797 ? 127,840
Draped Bust
- 1800 ? 202,908
- 1802 ? 20,266
- 1803 ? 92,000
- 1804 ? 1,055,312
- 1805 ? 814,464
- 1806 ? 356,000
- 1807 ? 476,000
- 1808 ? 400,000
Classic Head
(Shown at top right)
- 1809 ? 1,154,572
- 1810 ? 215,000
- 1811 ? 63,140
- 1825 ? 63,000
- 1826 ? 234,000
- 1828 ? 606,000
- 1829 ? 487,000
- 1831 ? 2,200
- 1832 ? 51,000
- 1833 ? 103,000
- 1834 ? 141,000
- 1835 ? 398,000
- 1836 ?
proof only, restrikes were made
- 1837 ?
No half cents were struck by the United States government; however, due to the need for small change, half-cent tokens were produced by private businessmen.
Braided Hair
- 1840 through 1849 were proof-only issues. There were restrikes made.
- 1849 ? 39,864
- 1850 ? 39,812
- 1851 ? 147,672
- 1852 ? proof only. Restrikes were made.
- 1853 ? 129,694
- 1854 ? 55,358
- 1855 ? 56,500
- 1856 ? 40,430
- 1857 ? 35,180
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Whitman The Official Guide Book 64th Edition 2011 page: #87
- ^
Whitman The Official Guide Book 64th Edition 2011 pages: #87, #89, #90, and #92
Sources
[
edit
]
- The Half Cent Die State Book 1793?1857
by Ronald P. Manley, Ph.D., 1998.
- American Half Cents ? The "Little Half Sisters"
(Second Edition) by Roger S. Cohen Jr., 1982.
- Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793?1857
by
Walter Breen
, 1983.
- The Half Cent, 1793?1857 The Story of American's Greatest Little Coin
by William R. Eckberg, 2019
- The Half Cent Handbook ? Draped Bust Varieties 1800?1808
by Ed Fuhrman, 2020.
- The Half Cent Handbook ? Classic Head & Braided Hair Varieties
by Ed Fuhrman, 2021.
- The Half Cent Handbook ? Liberty Cap Varieties 1793?1797
by Ed Fuhrman, 2022.
- The Half Cent Handbook ? Errors and Oddities
by Ed Fuhrman, 2022.
- The Half Cent Handbook ? Ultimate Grading Guide
by Ed Fuhrman, 2023.
- The Half Cent Handbook ? Ultimate Attribution Guide
by Ed Fuhrman, 2023.
External links
[
edit
]
- Half Cent information by year and type
Histories, photos, mintages, mints, metal contents, edge designs, designers, and more
- Half cent coin pictures
, Coin Page Database
- This half cent (numismatics.org:1858.1.1) was the first coin donated to the American Numismatic Society
- Half Cent, Coin Type from United States
Photos, mintage, varieties
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Topics
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Coins
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Currency
| Discontinued denominations
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Discontinued currency types
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Related
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