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United States Half Cents Information

**1800 Draped Bust Half Cent**
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Half Cents, also known as the half penny, were one of the earliest United States coins (1793-1857).

They were first minted in 1793, just as George Washington was getting started on his second term as President of the United States.

Believe it or not, a long time ago, a coin worth half a penny could actually buy something worthwhile.

In those days, the average working man only earned about a dollar a day, so that made the Half Penny useful for day to day purchases.

I would imagine there would have been lots of items that could be purchased for half a penny if you only made a dollar a day in wages.

The United States half cent was authorized by the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, which approved all of the first federal denominations and established the United States Mint.

Though this act authorized the production of all denominations, the half penny was among the first to be produced for circulation because producing the larger silver and gold coins required that security bonds be posted.

The other authorized denominations were not minted until 1794 or 1795.

This interesting coin, only worth half a penny, is about the size of today's quarter and the series offers the collector several interesting varieties.

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1793 Liberty Cap
Half Cent

Type	Liberty Cap, Head Facing Left
Designer	Undetermined: Probably Joseph Wright, Henry Voigt or Adam Eckfeldt
Years Minted	1793 only
Weight	6.74 grams
Composition	100% copper
Diameter	approx. 22 mm
Edge	Lettered: TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR
Mintage	35,334

The 1793 coin is a scarce date and was one of the very first coins issued by the United States.

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**1794-1797 Liberty Cap**

Type	Liberty Cap, Head Facing Right
Designer	1794 - Robert Scot 1795 - John Smith Gardner engraved by Robert Scot
Years Minted	1794 - 1797
Weight	1794-1795 - 6.74 grams 1795-1797 - 5.44 grams
Composition	100% copper
Diameter	approx. 23.5 mm
Edge	1794 - Lettered: TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR 1795-1797 - plain (some 1797 are either lettered or grippedGripped Edge This is as a series of tiny indentations, or grip marks around the circumference of the coin.)
Mintage	1794 - 81,600 1795 - 139,690 1796 - 1,390 1797 - 127,840

The 1796 half penny is the most valuable date.

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**1800-1808 Draped Bust**

Type	Draped Bust Half Cent
Designer	obverse designed by Gilbert Stuart and Robert Scot reverse designed by Scot-John Gardner engraved by Robert Scot
Years Minted	1800-1808
Weight	5.44 grams
Composition	100% copper
Diameter	approx. 23.5 mm
Edge	plain
Mintage	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

It is believed that all 1802-dated half cents were struck from spoiled large cents. In other words, they made them from large cents that were rejected for one reason or another, probably due to some error. This makes it the rarest date of this design type.

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**1809-1836 Classic Head**

Type	Classic Head Half Cent
Designer	designed and engraved by John Reich
Years Minted	1809-1836
Weight	5.44 grams
Composition	100% copper
Diameter	approx. 23.5 mm
Edge	plain
Mintage	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 - (Proofs only) RestrikesRe-strike This is a coin that is produced from genuine dies but at a date later than the original issue. were made.

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**1837 Half Cent Token**
(not a coin)

No half penny coins were issued by the U.S. mint between 1837 and 1839, however a tokenToken
These are privately-issued coin like pieces that usually have a redeemable value for goods or services. They are not an official government coin., privately issued by businessmen, appeared in 1837 because small change was desperately needed. This token was the same weight and value as a half penny and looked very similar to United States mint issues of the half cent.

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**1840-1857 Braided Hair**

Type	Coronet Head or Braided Hair Half Cent
Designer	obverse designed by Robert Scot and Christian Gobrecht reverse designed by John Reich and Christian Gobrecht engraved by Christian Gobrecht
Years Minted	1840-1857
Weight	5.44 grams
Composition	100% copper
Diameter	approx. 23 mm
Edge	plain
Mintage	1840-1848 - (Proofs only) RestrikesRe-strike This is a coin that is produced from genuine dies but at a date later than the original issue. were made. 1849 - 39,864 1850 - 39,812 1851 - 147,672 1852 - (Proofs only) Restrikes were made. 1853 - 129,694 1854 - 55,358 1855 - 56,500 1856 - 40,430 1857 - 35,180

There are not any mint marks on half cents. They were all made at the Philadelphia Mint as it was the only mint in the United States at the time. And since there was only one mint, there were no need for mint marks.

All half penny coins are pretty scarce, but they are becoming pretty popular among collectors. Prices for common dates and varieties have remained at reasonable levels for many years.

Price Guides

PCGS Price guide for Half Cents.

Numismedia Fair Market Value Price guide for the Half Penny.

Also see Coin Values Discovery for grading images and value charts for your half penny.

In 1857, the Half Penny coin was discontinued forever. During its life span, these coins were needed desperately for everyday commerce, but eventually, the coin fell out of favor with the public.

Mint Director James Snowden reported in 1854 that "People will not take the trouble to make a cent with two pieces of money". What's more, higher copper prices and increased labor costs made the coin unpractical to mint.

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