Draped Bust Half Dime

The Draped Bust Half Dime represents the second design used for America's smallest silver coin, following the Flowing Hair type. With production limited to a handful of years and total mintages in the low thousands to tens of thousands per date, it is a genuine rarity even by early American coinage standards.

The series is notable for a significant gap in production, with no half dimes struck in 1798, 1799, or from 1806 through 1828, making the completed run an unusual patchwork of scattered dates that appeals to specialists in early federal coinage.

Collectors prize the series both for its historical significance as an early U.S. Mint product and for its two distinct reverse designs, the Small Eagle and the later Heraldic Eagle, each with its own following.

The Draped Bust design, engraved by Robert Scot and reportedly inspired by a sketch of Philadelphia socialite Ann Willing Bingham, replaced the Flowing Hair portrait across U.S. silver coinage beginning in the mid-1790s. The half dime version first appeared in 1796, following a gap in half dime production after the earlier Flowing Hair issues.

Early Draped Bust Half Dimes (1796–1797) used a Small Eagle reverse showing a modest perched eagle within a wreath. Beginning with coins dated 1800, the Mint switched to a Heraldic Eagle reverse adapted from the Great Seal of the United States, featuring a larger eagle with a shield, arrows, and an olive branch.

Production of half dimes was sporadic during this era, as the Mint prioritized other denominations and struggled with limited bullion supplies; no half dimes at all were struck between 1806 and 1828, a gap of over two decades before the Capped Bust type resumed the denomination.

The obverse shows Liberty in profile with her hair tied back and draped fabric over her shoulder, surrounded by stars and the date. Reverse types differ by era: 1796–1797 coins show a Small Eagle perched within a wreath, while 1800–1805 coins show a larger Heraldic Eagle with a shield on its breast, arrows in one talon, and an olive branch in the other.

The coin is struck in silver with a reeded edge and measures about 16.5 mm in diameter, similar in size to the preceding Flowing Hair Half Dime. No mint marks appear, as all examples were struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

Collectors identify the specific subtype by the reverse eagle design and can further distinguish varieties by star counts on the obverse, since some early dates show 15 or 16 stars before the Mint settled on 13 stars to represent the original states rather than each new state added to the Union.

Draped Bust Half Dimes are scarce across all dates and grades, and even well-worn examples represent a meaningful investment for early American type collectors. Because total mintages for each year were quite low, well-preserved examples are especially difficult to find and command strong premiums.

The 1802 half dime is the most famous rarity in the series, with an extremely small surviving population, making it one of the most desirable early American coins in existence. Other dates in the series are also genuinely scarce compared to most later U.S. coinage.

Due to their age, low survival rates, and importance to early American numismatics, Draped Bust Half Dimes typically sell for thousands of dollars even in modest circulated grades, with rarities like the 1802 reaching dramatically higher prices at auction.