The half cent is the smallest denomination of United States coin ever minted. First authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792 on April 2, 1792, the coin was produced in the United States from 1793-1857. The half-cent piece was made of 100% copper 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). Coinage was discontinued by the Act of February 21, 1857. They were produced at the Philadelphia Mint.
There are several different types of half cents:
- Liberty Cap, Left (designed/engraved by Henry Voigt) - issued 1793
- Liberty Cap, Right (large head designed by Robert Scot, small head designed by Scot-John Gardner, engraved by Robert Scot) - issued 1794 to 1797
- Draped Bust (obverse designed by Gilbert Stuart and Robert Scot, reverse designed by Scot-John Gardner, engraved by Robert Scot) - issued 1800 to 1808
- Classic Head (designed/engraved by John Reich) - issued 1809 to 1836
- Braided Hair (designed by Christian Gobrecht) - issued 1840 to 1857
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 coin and a variety of the 1797 coin, it was lettered and another 1797 variety had a gripped, or milled, edge.
Mintage figures are the following:
Liberty Cap, Left
- 1793 - 35,334
Liberty Cap, 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
Famous quotes containing the words cent and/or states:
“The question for the country now is how to secure a more equal distribution of property among the people. There can be no republican institutions with vast masses of property permanently in a few hands, and large masses of voters without property.... Let no man get by inheritance, or by will, more than will produce at four per cent interest an income ... of fifteen thousand dollars] per year, or an estate of five hundred thousand dollars.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“If I be false, or swerve a hair from truth,
When time is old and hath forgot itself,
When waterdrops have worn the stones of Troy,
And blind oblivion swallowed cities up,
And mighty states characterless are grated
To dusty nothing, yet let memory
From false to false among false maids in love
Upbraid my falsehood.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)