United States
½ Dime "Draped Bust Half Dime" · “Draped Bust Half Dime”
United States · 1796–1805 · Silver
The coin
The story
The Draped Bust Half Dime: America's Smallest Silver Coin
It is smaller than a modern dime and worth half of one, yet the Draped Bust half dime carried the young republic's silver into everyday hands. The Mint made it in fits and starts, skipped whole years, and in 1802 struck so few that fewer than forty survive today — a coin most serious collectors will only ever see behind glass.
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