Flowing Hair Half Dime

Half Dime Value

The half dime value ranges from $1 to $100,000 depending on the quality of the coin, which year it was minted in, which mint it was manufactured at, and its strike type.

Half Dime Overview / History

Flowing Hair Half Dime

The Flowing Hair Half Dimes are the smallest silver coins that were authorized by the Mint Act of 1792. The coins are only available in two dates, 1794 and 1795 and both dates were struck in the same year.  

The half dimes feature Robert Scot’s Flowing Hair design on the obverse, paired with an eagle surrounded by a wreath on the reverse. The edge of the coin was reeded because of the small size, leaving no indication of the denomination on the coins. The US mint decided that the size, color and shape of the coin would be enough to determine denomination.  

Draped Bust Half Dimes

The Draped Bust Half Dime represented the second series for the half dime denomination. The coins would be struck for two years from 1796 until 1797 until a new reverse design would be adopted. The original obverse with the new reverse would be produced from 1800 until the conclusion of the series in 1805.

The half dime was authorized under the Coinage Act of 1792. The coins were struck in a silver based composition and carried a value of five cents, or half the value of the larger dime. Production for the half dime commenced in 1795 with some pieces dated one year earlier.

After a short run for the original design, the Draped Bust Half Dimes would be introduced in 1796. The obverse featured a rendition of Liberty believed to have been proposed by Gilbert Stuart and executed by Robert Scot. The reverse featured a small eagle within a wreath, identical to the prior series.

Starting in 1800, a new reverse design would be adopted featuring a heraldic eagle. The stylized image of an eagle appeared with a shield at its chest and a ribbon in its beak reading "E Pluribus Unum." The words "United States of America" surrounded the image. As with the previous series, the denomination was not expressed anywhere on the coin.

The Draped Bust Half Dimes were struck across just seven different years with limited mintages. The scarcest issue is the 1802 half dime, with a mintage of merely 3,060 pieces.

ID: 181

List of Half Dimes by Year