Capped Bust Half Dimes 1829-1837

After 1805 the Mint struck no half dimes for more than twenty years. It started again in 1829, and the first pieces were struck on July 4 of that year, the day the cornerstone of the second Philadelphia Mint was laid. Why the denomination came back is not known.

The new coin was the work of Chief Engraver William Kneass, thought to have modeled it on John Reich's Capped Bust Liberty of 1807. Christian Gobrecht cut the letter and numeral punches and later revised Kneass's work. The half dime was struck from the start in a close collar, which the Mint had adopted in the late 1820s. The collar formed the reeded edge during striking, held every coin to the same diameter and gave it a raised rim.

The Mint's yearly totals for these coins are calendar-year figures, and the dies were used until they wore out. NGC notes that the 1831 total includes coins dated 1829 or 1830, that many 1832 half dimes were struck in 1833, and that the 1834 total includes coins dated 1832 and 1833. Director Robert M. Patterson ended the reuse of old-dated dies after taking office in 1835.

Gobrecht's Seated Liberty half dime was ready in 1837, and NGC reports that the Capped Bust dies were retired that June. Both designs carry the date 1837.

Obverse. Liberty faces left in a soft cloth cap with LIBERTY on its band, curls falling to her shoulder and drapery fastened with a clasp. Thirteen stars surround her, seven on the left and six on the right, with the date below.

Reverse. An eagle with a shield on its breast holds an olive branch and three arrows. A ribbon above it reads E PLURIBUS UNUM, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs around the top, and the value 5 C. sits at the bottom.

Edge. Reeded.

Mint mark. None; all were struck at Philadelphia.

Telling the varieties apart.

Die marriages. NGC counts 18 marriages for 1829 and 14 for 1830, and fewer in most later years. They are attributed by Logan-McCloskey (LM) number, often with a decimal for a later die state, or by Valentine's older V-numbers.

Mintages below are the Mint's calendar-year figures as NGC, USA Coin Book and CoinWeek give them; several years include coins with earlier dates.

• 1829: 1,230,000, the first year, from 18 die marriages; the 1829 proofs are linked to the July 4 cornerstone ceremony.
• 1830 to 1833: 1,240,000, 1,242,700, 965,000 and 1,370,000.
• 1834 3 over inverted 3: the 3 was punched upside down first, on the obverse NGC attributes to LM-1 and LM-3. The year's total is 1,480,000.
• 1835: 2,760,000 in four combinations of date and value size: Large Date, Large 5C, Large Date, Small 5C, Small Date, Large 5C and Small Date, Small 5C, from 12 die marriages.
• 1836: 1,900,000 with a Large 5C or Small 5C reverse; one die (LM-2) also has a 3 punched over an inverted 3.
• 1837: 871,000, struck until June, with a Large 5C or a Small 5C reverse left over from 1835.

Proofs. No record was kept of how many proofs were struck. NGC suggests about 20 for 1829, CoinWeek estimates 30, and NGC warns that many coins once called proofs of other years are prooflike pieces from refinished dies.

• Composition: about 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper (NGC rounds it to .892)
• Weight: 1.35 g, holding 0.0387 troy oz of silver (NGC)
• Diameter: 15.5 mm according to NGC, CoinWeek and USA Coin Book; PCGS gives 15.9 mm
• Edge: reeded
• Designer: William Kneass, after John Reich; punches by Christian Gobrecht