You might think a half dime is simply a modern nickel. But half dimes were actually silver coins worth 5 cents that were minted before the coins that eventually became our modern nickels. They were authorized in 1792, much smaller than the dimes of the time and much thinner, giving them the actual appearance of being almost half a dime. When lobbyists fought to have nickel included in the creation of new coins in the 1860s, the new three- and five-cent coins pushed out the older silver coins so the original half dimes were last minted in 1873.

The US half dime was minted from 1794 to 1873, and was one of the original coins minted in the United States. The first design is known as the Flowing Hair design because of the Liberty’s flowing hair, but was only struck for 2 years before being changed to the Draped Bust, Small Eagle design. This design also lasted for only 2 years, before half dime minting stopped and wasn’t resumed against until 1800. This design was known as the Large Eagle design, with the Great Seal of the United States appearing on the reverse of the coin. These were struck until 1805, and then no more were minted until 1829.

The half dime that returned in 1829 now bore the words “five cents” instead of half dime. The design appearing on this coin lasted until 1837, when a Seated Liberty design once again bearing the words half dime was minted. New minting in 1837 saw the silver content lessen, though the coins remained the same size. In 1840 the design was changed to include drapery and stars, and wasn’t changed again significantly after that. After the Civil War in 1866, nickel-based 5-cent coins were circulated at the same time as silver half dimes but 1873 saw the last half dimes minted to make way for the 5-cent coins.
Of all the half dimes available today, the 1802 Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle is one of the most rare and collectible. Only a little over 13,000 of them were struck, but only about 16 are known to exist today. The half dime is still an interesting conversation piece, aside from its collector and real-world value.

Because the silver content of the half dime dropped long before minting stopped, people tended to try to acquire the earlier half dimes so more of the newer coins were struck to replace them. The most valuable coins are the earlier ones with higher silver content, though some were actually minted without the name of the country because of a die problem, and these are valuable novelties for coin collectors.

The half dime is a fairly rare coin so the best places to find one in good condition are places like eBay where a huge variety of sellers can present their items. The best way to find the value of a coin is to consult a coin guide, and compare that to the most recent information you can find online.

Originally posted 2008-12-07 14:00:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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