An Introduction to the American Half Cent, "The Little Half Sisters"

BillJones

Here is another article from my club newletter archives.

Given the corrosive effects of inflation upon the buying power of our modern coinage, it is hard to believe that there was a time went a half cent had any practical use in our nation's economic system. Today the U.S. Mint System spends more than a cent to make a cent and more than five cents to make a nickel. Yet at the time of the founding of our nation's monetary system, the half cent was one of the first ten denominations.

Although some collectors might believe that the first half cents were issued in 1793, the true beginning for the coin was in Massachusetts in 1787. That year the Massachusetts General Court authorized the coinage of cents and half cents that were struck at the state run mint. The coin's design featured the Indian from the State Seal on the obverse and an eagle, similar to the heraldic eagle that would later appear on U.S. federal coinage, on the reverse. The denomination, "HALF CENT," appeared at the top of the eagle's shield on the reverse. This marked the first time that the word "CENT" appeared on a coin that was made within The United States. After only two years of operation the Massachusetts mint closed because the costs of running the facility exceeded the face value of the coins it produced.

The concept of a half cent appeared again in the Coinage Act of 1792. That law authorized ten denominations for U.S. coinage which ranged from the half cent to the ten dollar gold piece or "eagle." Oddly one of the half cent's biggest boosters was Alexander Hamilton, a man who was often noted for his "monarchial" tendencies. Hamilton believed that the half cent would provide the poor with a means to stretch their limited resources. The coin also provided a link between the American decimal based coinage system and the Spanish dollar which was divided into eight parts or "bits." Each "bit" was worth 12 ½ cents, and the half cent provided the bridge between the two systems.

Although the half cent was issued from 1793 until 1857, the coin was never popular. Merchants disliked the coin because it cut into their profits. It made it possible for a customer to purchase a half cent's worth of goods or get more change from a transaction. Conversely some consumers looked down upon the denomination because it carried the stigma of "a poor man's coin." The total mintage for the coin throughout its run was only 7.8 million pieces, and there were several date gaps in the series. Those gaps have discouraged many collectors from getting involved in collecting half cents by date.

The first half cents, which were in issued in the summer of 1793, featured a bust of Ms. Liberty, facing left with a liberty cap suspended behind her head on a pole. Like the large cents of the period, this design was derived from the Libertas Americana medal. Benjamin Franklin conceived and commissioned this medal which was struck in France and issued to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Paris. That treaty ended the American Revolutionary War and granted The United States its independence. With a mintage of only 35,334, the 1793 Half Cent is a scarce and valuable one year type coin.

The bust on the Libertas Americana medal was the model for the designs of several early American coins.

Like the lady which appeared on the Libertas Americana medal, the bust on the 1793 Half Cent faced left. In 1794 she was switched to face right like the Liberty Cap large cents. The right facing Liberty Cap design would continue until 1797 although a number of sub types were issued during that period. The most significant of these sub types was the reduction in the official weight for the half cent from 104 to 84 grains, which took effect at the end of 1795. The light weight planchets were too thin to accommodate edge lettering, and the half cent would have a plain edge for the remainder of the series. The first date gap occurred in the series when no half cents were issued in 1798 and 1799.

These 1794 and 1795 half cents have different designs, but most collectors consider them to be one type.

In 1800 mint engraver, Robert Scott, introduced his Draped Bust design to the half cent. Scott had unveiled this design in 1795 for the Bust Dollar. In what would become a trend, the half cent was the last coin to receive the benefit of the new design motif. The Draped Bust half cents were issued from 1800 to 1808. The only gap for that period was in 1801 when no half cents were issued. The scarcest date in the Draped Bust half cent series is 1802. For that year a previously unused 1800 die was given an overdate to 1802 and the entire mintage was produced on cut-down large cent planchets which had been deemed too poor to be used for the larger coin. By then the half cents were beginning to be treated as "half sisters" or even "step sisters."

1800 Half Cent

1802 over 0 Half Cent, "New Reverse."

In 1809 assistant mint engraver, John Reich, introduced his Classic Head design to the half cent. Reich, who was a German immigrant, had been hired at the mint to assist Robert Scott on the recommendation of President Thomas Jefferson. Reich redesigned all of the U.S. coins that were then in production. Despite his commendable service to the U.S. Mint, he would never receive a promotion or a raise in pay. His salary would remain at $600 per year, which even in those days, was paltry for a man of his talents.

In 1811 Mint Director, Robert Patterson, suspended the coinage of the half cent. Patterson did not care for the half cent. His dislike for the coin was supported by the fact that the banks would not accept half cents for delivery because they did not have legal tender status. He ordered that all of the planchets on hand were to be used and that no others would be ordered. Many of the planchets that were used to mint the 1811 half cents were low quality. Today the 1811 half cent is a scarce date in the series, and finding attractive examples is very difficult. Half cents were not issued from 1812 to 1824.

1809 Half Cent

The mint resumed the production of half cents in 1825. Despite the fact that all of the other U.S. coins now had new designs, the Classic Head design continued to appear on the half cent. This second series of Classic Head half cents stretched from 1825 to 1836, but there are several gaps in the series. No half cents were issued in 1827 and 1830. The mint struck only 2,200 business strike half cents in 1831 in addition to a small number of Proofs and issued only Proof half cents in 1836. Both of these coins are very rare, and in later years the mint issued additional examples of those dates to satisfy collector demand.

1835 Half Cent

The U.S. Mint did not issue any half cents in 1837, but a private mint did. Edward Hulseman practiced the die making trade as an employee of the Robinson & Jones Co. of Attleboro, Massachusetts. In 1836 he left their employment and moved to New York City where he opened a business as an independent token maker. One of his products was a half cent token, which he issued in 1837. The token, which features a Federal eagle on the obverse, is well made. Half cent collectors have traditionally included it in their sets, and it has been listed with the half cents in The Red Book for many years.

The Philadelphia Mint resumed half production in 1840, but it would be on a very limited scale. These coins carried the Braided Hair design which also appeared on the large cents. All of the half cents that were issued from 1840 until 1848 were struck only as Proofs. To confuse matters further the mint issued additional Proof coins of these dates in later years which are slightly different from the original pieces. All of these coins are rare and are seldom available to collectors.

In 1849 the Philadelphia Mint again issued half cents for general circulation. This final series of cents were issued continuously until 1857 although the 1852 half cent was issued only in the Proof format. These coins are often found in at least EF condition, and undamaged coins that grade less than EF are rare. Given this situation, it is obvious that these coins were not popular and saw very little use.

By 1857 the cost of producing the large cent and the half cent had risen to the point where "The mint was barely covering its expenses." In any case the half cent and large cent were seldom seen in circulation outside of the major cities. The Coinage Act of 1857 ended the production of the half cent and reduced the size of cent to a coin similar to the one we use today. It marked the end of an era.

1857 Large Cent

mvs7

@BillJones - nice intro to a cool series!

Vbowling299

love the series and several of the coins in your set. thanks for the cool story!

ricko

Thanks Bill... very interesting history of these little coins.... Cheers, RickO

asheland

Great thread!

oih82w8

Nice article, great coins, makes (half) sense to me!

carabonnair

Thanks for your post.
I read somewhere (I can't remember the reference) that half cents circulated in Maine. I wonder if this token is related to their thriftiness-

And I thought this item interesting, too.
Chamber of Commerce Journal of Maine, Volume 29, No. 8 p. 220
Portland, Maine, January, 1917

Especially the part that over 100 years ago they considered perhaps cents and nickels would soon be outdated. [Edited to add date of article]

1630Boston

Great information, thanks for posting it here, I've always appreciated the Massachusetts half and whole cents of 1787/17 88

oldabeintx

Another informative post, thanks Bill.

BryceM

Great post and nice coins. I have one I sometimes use as a pocket piece. Nobody can ever guess the value of the coins I'm carrying.

It’s a little strange they’re so neglected. The little sisters are a fascinating series and there’s plenty there to hold my interest.

1630Boston

Elcontador

Thanks, Bill. The later date Classic Half Cents were the first coin which was made by the steam press, so the strike on Uncs. is usually hammered. If you want a BN type Classic or Braided Hair 1/2 Cent (the former is usually the 1828 or the 1835), and the latter typically an 1855 in Unc., they won't break the bank (though the dentils are almost always weak on the 1855).

kaz

Excellent brief history of the 1/2c, Bill. I'm bookmarking it.

msch1man

Outstanding post - thanks for sharing!

Kudbegud

Very nice article. Thanks

Coin Finder

Great info Bill thanks!!! Everyone should read! Nice coins also. I like 1800/2 half cent the best. The best one I have ever seen.

koynekwest

A very good and informative thread! Thanks!! I have a set of the Braided hair type. I think the obverse of that half cent type look like little cameos-it's one of my favorite coin designs.

brianc1959

I've always liked half cents, and like BryceM I've always been puzzled by how few collectors seem to pursue them.

BTW, are these your coins?

ElKevvo

Good read with my early morning coffee!

K

Outhaul

My first (and only) half cent I recently purchased from a forum member. Crappy pictures, I know, but looks way better than MS-62 in hand:

Outhaul

And, as always, Bill Jones provides a stellar posting yet again!

Cheers

Bob

BillJones

@brianc1959 said:
I've always liked half cents, and like BryceM I've always been puzzled by how few collectors seem to pursue them.

BTW, are these your coins?

The most often cited reason for the lack of collector interest in the half cent series is that there are so many holes in a complete date set. Unlike the large cents, you can’t have anything close to date run from 1793 to 1857. In addition to some intermittent missing dates, there is a big hole from 1812 to 1824. Then there is another period from 1836 to 1848. Half cents, both original issues and restrikes, were made during that time, but they are so rare that they are virtually uncollectable.

Although the large cents and half cents shared the same designs, I think that those designs often look better on the half cents. It is also fun to collect a series that carries the tag, “All half cents are scarce,” which has been a line in “The Red Book” for many years.

ElmerFusterpuck

I like this series in general, but the Draped Bust run from 1800 thru 1808 is my favorite section. I have that date run except for the 1802, graded and raw pieces.

johnny9434

thats wicked nice.

TwoSides2aCoin

Thank you for this.

BillJones

@ElmerFusterpuck said:
I like this series in general, but the Draped Bust run from 1800 thru 1808 is my favorite section. I have that date run except for the 1802, graded and raw pieces.

I once had all but four of the Draped Bust Half Cent die varieties. I really wanted to get all 12 of the 1804 varieties, but the only time I had chance to buy the rarest one, the price tag was $7,000 for a ground salvage piece. I had spent $1,100 for the rarest 1805. That coin looked like something the cat dragged in, and I just couldn't spend that kind of money on an unattractive coin. That ended my half cent die variety collecting days. I sold almost all of the set for seed money when I became a dealer.

Catbert

I like half cents and that is why I’m resurrecting Bill’s excellent thread.

His 1795 shown above is the look I’d like to have for that type, but I’m afraid I couldn’t afford such a primo example. Oh well, we all have our limitations. @BillJones do you still own it? Where did you find it?

markelman1125

Draped bust XF 45 BN spiked chin

lkenefic

Excellent article. .. thanks for posting...

ms70

It's good to bump these nice educational write-ups for those who otherwise would have never seen them.

ParlousJoe

Very interesting write up about the cents history. Very nicely done BillJones and thank you for posting it here for us to read.

SaorAlba

I've read somewhere that in the 1850's the half cent had the purchasing power of the equivalent of 25c in modern currency. Which clearly demonstrates in reality that our coinage today is worthless.

BillJones

@Catbert said:
I like half cents and that is why I’m resurrecting Bill’s excellent thread.

His 1795 shown above is the look I’d like to have for that type, but I’m afraid I couldn’t afford such a primo example. Oh well, we all have our limitations. @BillJones do you still own it? Where did you find it?

Yes, I still own that piece. I bought it from Chris Victor-McCawley. It was in his inventory as a raw coin, and I had him get it certified.

As a type collector, you could include several 1794-5 half cents in your collection because the image of Ms. Liberty changed on them several times. The expense is prohibitive if you want them high grade. Having one 1794 half cent is enough for me.