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

First authorized by the

Coinage Act of 1792 The Coinage Act of 1792 (also known as the Mint Act; officially: ''An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States''), passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, created the United States dollar as the countr ...

on April 2, 1792, the coin was produced in the United States from 1793 to 1857. The half-cent piece was made of 100%

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and was valued at five milles, or one two-hundredth of a dollar. 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).Whitman The Official Guide Book 64th Edition 2011 pages: #87, #89, #90, and #92 Coinage was discontinued by the Coinage Act of February 21, 1857. They were all produced at the Philadelphia Mint.

Design varieties

There are several different types of half cents: * Liberty Cap, Facing left (designed/engraved by

Henry Voigt Henry Voigt or Henry Voight (1738–1814) was a clockmaker, mathematical instrument maker, machine and steam engine builder, and Chief Coiner of the first United States Mint. He operated a wire mill in Reading Pennsylvania and repaired clocks and w ...

) – issued 1793 * Liberty Cap, Facing right (large head designed by

Robert Scot Robert Scot (October 2, 1745 – November 3, 1823) was a Scottish-American engraver who served as Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1793 until his death in 1823. He was succeeded by William Kneass. Scot designed the popular and r ...

, small head designed by Scot-John Gardner, engraved by Robert Scot) – issued 1794 to 1797 * Draped Bust (obverse designed by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

and Robert Scot, reverse designed by Scot-John Gardner, engraved by Robert Scot) – issued 1800 to 1808 *

Classic Head The Classic Head was a coin design issued by the United States Mint in the early 19th century. It was introduced for copper coinage in 1808 by engraver John Reich and later redesigned and improved by Chief Engraver William Kneass. Dates minted ...

(designed/engraved by Robert Scot or John Reich) – issued 1809 to 1836 *

Braided Hair The Coronet large cent was a type of large cent issued by the United States Mint at the Philadelphia Mint from 1816 until 1839. There are two similar designs of the Coronet large cent, the Matron Head and the Braided Hair, the latter with a ...

(designed by

Christian Gobrecht Christian Gobrecht (December 23, 1785 – July 23, 1844) was the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 until his death in 1844. He was responsible for designing the famous " Seated Liberty" designs, which were in turn the di ...

) – issued 1840 to 1857 There are no mint marks on any of the coins (all minted at the

Philadelphia Mint The Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national ...

) 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 and another 1797 variety had a gripped, or milled, edge.

Mintage figures

Liberty Cap, facing left *1793 – 35,334 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

References

Sources

*''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 Walter Henry Breen Jr. (September 5, 1928 – April 27, 1993) was an American numismatist, writer, and convicted child sex offender; as well as the husband of author Marion Zimmer Bradley. He was known among coin collectors for writing ''Walt ...

, 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.

External links