US Half Cent Coins

The United States Mint only issued half cents between the years of 1793 and 1857 and only then, intermitently. During that time there were five different designs of coin issued.

Liberty Cap - Head Left 1793

The first half cent issued was the Liberty Cap. The Liberty Cap half cent was issued as both left facing and right facing varieties. The Head Left version was only minted in 1793.

It is made of 100% copper with a diameter of 22mm.

Libery Cap - Right Head 1794-1797

In 1794 the coin was changed to have the head facing rght as oposed to left.

There were then no half cents issued until 1800.

Draped Bust - 1800-1808

1800 saw the first major change to the half cent, with the change to a draped bust design. 1802 is a particulary rare date for this coin, when all the coins were minted using cut down Large Cents.

There were no half cents issued in 1801.

Classic Head 1809-1836

This fourth design, also kown as the Capped Bust half cent, had a much longer run. However, none were issued between 1812 and 1824, mainly due to the fact that demand for ths denomination was decreasing.

This coin features the distinctive Liberty headband that is also seen on some large cent designs.

There were no hald cents issued from 1836 to 39. However, a private token was issued during this period.

Braided Hair 1840-1857

The final design for the half cent was the Braided Hair. Many of these years are quite rare as in some of these years only proofs were struck.

The half cent has not been minted by the US goverment since 1857.