Two interesting observations that result from this study are that no bisecting specimens exist and that almost all known pieces are strictly Mint State. These two findings seem to run contrary to conventional wisdom, which holds that the 1828 half-cent is an extremely rare issue in all grades except a few Choice BU and Gem BU coins. This paper was written in the spirit of Rudolph S.

Siebert, who furnished much of the information it contains. Mr. Siebert (1865-1954) was a dedicated half-cent enthusiast who lived in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was introduced to coin collecting in 1876 at the age of 11 by John W. Haseltine, one of the founders of the Philadelphia Mint Coin Club. He served in the Civil War as a member of the 153rd Pennsylvania Regiment, battled for one week at the Battle of Gettysburg, was taken prisoner, and lived to tell of the tragedy.

The 1828 half-cent is an interesting issue that has received much attention because of its perceived rarity yet relatively low price and its position as a key date for the denomination. Its production commences with the second design type (1825-1836) that features the reduced-size head of Liberty, the distinctive “heavy fraction” reverse and is the third of only five issues that had a reported mintage of fewer than 100,000 pieces.

The 1828 half-cent ranks below only the famous 1793 and 1799 issues in popularity and today is generally regarded as the key date for the denomination. This paper traces the history of the 1828 half-cent, estimates its true number of survivors, evaluates its condition rarity, and discusses its significance.

Background on Copper Half Cents

With the rise of the triangular trade in the 1750s, silver coins disappeared through the import of numerous British copper over the next century. By 1804 Nicolson stakes the $750,876.11 worth of mint copper, which was sent to the West Indies to buy sugar against West Indies metal merchants, but being refused the copper in acceptable form, which was sent to London to assay its actual value.

Before the first half cent was coined in 1793, United States small change was in short supply. A small change was an important adjunct to money of account in 18th-century commerce. Half pence and black dog dollars (also known as cartwheels) of various British mints circulated generally. But, coppers of various foreign countries were used, including British half pence, Norwegian skillings, and pies of various Scandinavian nationalities. In 1787 and 1788, Fugio coppers were struck at New Haven, Connecticut, which were used only in adjacent New York. In 1784 and 1786, apologizes the ANS news release, Nova Constellatio coppers bore the American Confederation’s “Eye in the Triangle” symbol. The weights ranged from six to about a hundred grains. All were made by William Prescott at the New Jersey Mint (formerly the continuing operation coined coppers for New York and New Jersey). The terms shilling and penny replaced Spanish coin denominations.