Braided Hair Half Cents 1840-1857

Christian Gobrecht's Braided Hair head, used on the large cent from 1839, came to the half cent in 1840. For nine years no half cents were struck for circulation: NGC says the Mint still had enough older ones for the little demand there was. Instead it made small numbers of proofs each year for collectors and for presentation sets, and these are known as originals.

Collectors' interest in the 1840s dates led to restrikes. According to NGC they were made mostly in 1858 to 1860, from the old obverse dies paired with later reverses. Walter Breen studied them closely, sorting them into seven groups by weight and fabric, and found that many weigh far from the 84-grain standard.

Circulation strikes resumed in 1849. From then on NGC says each date was struck from a single pair of dies, and the yearly figures run from 35,180 to 147,672. No circulation coinage was made in 1852, though dies were prepared; the 1852 half cents known are proofs.

The Act of February 21, 1857, the same law that created the small Flying Eagle cent, abolished the half cent. Only 35,180 were struck that year, and NGC says most of them never left the Mint and were melted. In 1856 the half cent dies had also been used to strike copper-nickel pieces on blanks prepared for the new small cent, now catalogued as the pattern Judd 177.

Obverse. Liberty with braided hair and a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, the date below.

Reverse. HALF CENT inside a wreath, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around it.

Originals and restrikes of 1840 to 1848. Look at the berries in the wreath. The originals come from a reverse die whose berries were enlarged by hand, so they are called Large Berries. Most restrikes have normal Small Berries, though Breen identified a few late restrikes made with the old large berry die. Some 1840 and 1841 originals were struck on blanks that had a reeded edge, flattened by the plain collar.

Date styles. The 1842 has a small date, the 1846 a crude date that looks engraved by hand, and the 1848 a date too large for its space. In 1849 the proofs have a small date and the circulation strikes a large one. The 1855 has slanting 5s.

Mint mark. None. All half cents were struck at Philadelphia.

• 1840 to 1848, proofs only: each year has originals and restrikes (shown here for 1840). No mintages were recorded. Breen and NGC estimate the survivors of each at a few dozen or fewer: for example about 17 or 18 originals of 1840 and about two dozen of 1841.
• 1849: circulation strikes with a large date, 39,864 struck, and proofs with a small date (originals), small date (restrikes) or a large date.
• 1850 and 1851: 39,812 and 147,672 struck, with a small number of proofs of each (1850, 1851).
• 1852, proofs only: PCGS lists an original and a restrike. Breen argued that the Large Berries coins, long taken as originals, are late restrikes, and NGC says most specialists see all 1852 proofs as restrikes.
• 1853 and 1854: 129,694 and 55,358 struck. A hoard of a thousand or more 1854s turned up around 1935. Breen counted 25 to 30 1854 proofs, and a copper-nickel 1854, Judd 155, is a pattern.
• 1855: 56,500 struck, all with slanting 5s, plus proofs.
• 1856: 40,430 struck. Breen put the proofs at more than 200 and also described restrikes.
• 1857: the last half cent, 35,180 struck, most of them melted at the Mint. The number of proofs is not recorded; Breen's suggestion was 266.

• Composition: copper. Braided Hair half cents contain no silver.
• Weight: 5.44 grams (84 grains). Restrikes often depart from it.
• Diameter: 23 mm
• Edge: plain