Half cent coin
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"Liberty Cap" half-cent coin from 1793
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“Braided Hair” half-cent coin from 1851
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The half-cent coin ( Engl. Half Cent Coin ) is a historical coin of the United States with a value of 1/200 US dollars . This makes it the US coin with the lowest face value that was official tender. At the local level, however, tokens with a smaller face value, starting at 1/1000 dollars ( Mill ), were also in use.
history
When the United States introduced the US dollar as its own currency in 1793, the Spanish real coins , among other things, were widely used as a means of payment. The silver content and thus the value of a US dollar corresponded to that of a common 8 reales coin called the Spanish dollar . However, since the US dollar is based on the decimal system , a 1 real coin was worth $ 0.125, or 12.5 cents. Therefore, a 1/2-cent coin was necessary to be able to change correctly.
Although its purchasing power was equivalent to that of a modern dimes ($ 0.10), it was never very popular. Production was regularly interrupted because banks and dealers requested fewer of these coins than expected. In the people she had the condescending nickname " Half Sister " (half sister). The last half-cent coins were minted in 1857. Efforts to reintroduce it in the early 20th century failed, and inflation eventually lost its utility.
Like the first " large cents ", the half-cent coin was made from pure copper. The first variants have the inscription “ Half Cent ” and “1/200” on the back as well as “ Two hundred for a dollar ” (two hundred for one dollar) in the margin; later versions only “ Half Cent ” and a smooth edge. The weight was initially 6.74 g with a diameter of 22 millimeters, from 1795 5.44 g with a diameter of 23.5 millimeters. The obverse shows a portrait of Liberty . The following types are distinguished on the basis of the different representations:
- Liberty Cap Half Cent (1793–1797)
- Draped Bust Half Cent (1800–1808)
- Classic Head Half Cent (1809-1836)
- Braided Hair Half Cent (1840-1857)
