gotta Half Cent? Post your half cents! Or your large cents!

Baley

Coin collecting got a big boost in 1857, three very important things happened:
1. Proof coins began to be minted in larger quantities for collectors
2. The Large Cent was changed to the small cent (flying eagle)
3. The denomination of the Half Cent was discontinued.

This among other factors, such as a gold rush, etc, spurred the market for rare coins in the late 1850's.

Half cents and large cents circulated for a while longer, but by Gresham's law, they were taken and either melted or saved.

People collected the old, obsolete coins from circulation, much as happens when the designs or compositions change, or circulating commemoratives are introduced (witness the coin market booms following a couple or three years after 1964, 1976, and now 1999)

Anyway, back to the half cents, how about posting a picture of your 1/2 c. pieces if you have them;
these coins don't get too much attention but most collectors have a few of these interesting coins...

wingedliberty

A very nice display Baley. I love half cents and early copper in general. Obsolete denominations are fun, you get a real sense of history that is unique. This is why I love two and three cent pieces as well.
I like that chocolate brown Draped Bust alot! Thanks for sharing.

Baley

Thanks Brian. I'd like to see pictures of people's half cents and large cents! here are some large cents:

dorkkarl

that's a great digi-pic, baley.

K S

JohnZ

Great pics, Baley, and a great idea for a thread. I've got many old American coppers, but can't post right now - at work. Have to go home and take some scans. With all the attention on silver, especially Morgans, it's nice to know someone else appreciates these coins.

stman

What's this? A great informative, and educating thread about coins, with a great display that I've always enjoyed seeing you post on here? And on the coin forum? and the weekend coming with show reports and hype of the market and flaming? Shame on YOU!!!

Thanks it's nice to see something of this nature.

berylcoin

This 1806 is my only half cent. The obverse has light slide marks from a Dansco (not mine), and the reverse has some staining and a gouge/planchet flaw. Other than that she's cherry.



Larger scans: Obverse, Reverse

BC

cherrypickincoin

This thread doesn't make cents. If it made half as much cents as a dime I might be more inclined to say that you have more cents but since we're posting half cents, I say that doesn't make any cents at all. However, since I see a beautiful woman with a draped bust that has some amazing longevity for being 200 years old, I can see how this makes cents and I commend you for your half-cents thread. Now that my corniness is gone, I'm going to go snap some photos of my cents. Now how about half cents, cents and 2 cents together?

Some stunning coins ya have there Baley! I love early copper...

Baley

gotta love a copper half cent the size of a quarter! people who see it always go "a Half Cent! Imagine.."

The 1850 isn't as bright as the pic shows and the reverse colors are a little off on all of the coins, I usually shoot under Tensor light but went for incandescent this time to see how it turned out.

VERY tough to find the Draped bust coins with all the detail, my target with those two was EF45 brown. It is especially difficult to find the Classic head large cent with a nice smooth uncorroded planchet with good color. Most I've seen have some degree of porousity, and those that didn't were held tightly, meaning very expensive or not for sale in a hurry, the seller can wait for his price. My 1812 cent was broken out of an NTC AU50 "porous" holder, and while the detail is nice and the surfaces better than average, it is moderately porous and nets way down to choice VF imo. However, I bid a Fine price and won it, probably because people were scared of the slab.

Speaking of slabs, I'd like to upgrade a couple of these, and don't mind breaking holders, but feel that uncirculated copper would not be so happy in a Dansco over several years, so this page may be done.
Well, Except for the Coronet cent, a high grade AU might look nice there.

lordmarcovan

THIS is one I sold on consignment about two years ago.

Wish I could have afforded it for myself!

But I bought my Benson coin with the commission I got from selling that MS65 RD, which was much prettier in person.

Barry

One of 2 or 3 half cents I own:

lordmarcovan

Very sweet, Barry! Looks like a nice AU!

berylcoin

Baley, I almost forgot to mention how much I like your draped bust coins. Those are my favorite large cent and half cent designs. I'd eventually like to have a similar pair for my typeset.

Barry, awesome Liberty Cap, but I bet mine cost less.



BC

millennium

Here are a few of my half cents...no where near the quality of some of the ones I have seen here....

Half Cents

CarlWohlforth

Here is one of mine:

Blackhawk

FullHorn

WOW! You mean to tell me there is a face on that coin? I thought it was an outline of a hippy with a liberty headband.

RotatedRainbows

Here is one of the few pieces I own all with major die rotation of course.

lordmarcovan

Nothing too special here, and some of the SEGS stuff was overgraded,
but this was from my old 1798-2000 nongold type set I built before I
joined here. I was on a somewhat smaller budget then, although I have an
even smaller budget now for personal collection stuff, now that I'm a part
time dealer.

Still, these were the nicest type coins I could afford at the time,
and some of them were respectable for a low budget guy. That collection
was quite a sacrifice, because I was earning barely over minimum wage at
the time. I even waited tables part time so I would have the money to
build a nice type set.

These pics are wretched and dark.

Baley

I like how millennium casually links pics of "a few of his half cents" and he has a set!

Also, the Liberty cap left and right wow, still don't have those yet, tough coins Carl and Barry!

LordM and others, nice examples of all the looks and conditions and surface types these are found in..