½ Cent "Draped Bust - Half Cent" obverse

½ Cent "Draped Bust - Half Cent" reverse

United States

½ Cent "Draped Bust - Half Cent" · “Draped Bust - Half Cent”

United States · 1800–1808 · Copper

The coin

The story

The Draped Bust Half Cent: America's least-wanted coin

At the dawn of the 1800s the young United States made a coin worth half of one cent. Almost nobody wanted it. The Mint struck them on cut-up scrap, piled the leftovers in storage, and kept making them anyway. Today the rarest are worth a fortune.

Read the full story

Designer

Robert Scot

Meet the designer

Era

The Founding & the First Mint

Explore the era

Catalogue

Issuer: United States
Years: 1800–1808
Metal: Copper

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NFull history on Numista

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