Draped Bust Half Cent

The Draped Bust design can be found on several early American coins. One of those coins is the Draped Bust Half Cent. It is a real prize amongst any collection. It was minted in 1800 on through to 1808 and like the other half cents it was made from copper and it has a diameter of 23.5 millimeters. All Draped Bust Half Cents have a plain edge.

As with all coins there are some variations worth noting. These variations will help you to properly identify your Draped Bust Half Cent.

In 1802 and 1803 there were very subtle variations.The 1802 Draped Bust Half Cent with a 2 over the 0 is the most valuable.

In 1804 there were variations with stems on the wreaths that can be found on the back or reverse side and there were some without stems. There was also a Spiked Chin version where the chin on the front side has a large spike protruding from it. In 1804 there were also two different date styles. There was a plain date and a crosslet date both of which had stem and stemless versions.

In 1805 there were stem and stemless versions as well as three different date styles. The 5 in the date was minted in three different sizes. They area labeled small, medium and large.

In 1806 there were stem and stemless versions and different date sizes. The 6 in 1806 was minted in two different sizes : large and small.

In 1807 there were no variations but they appear again in 1808. There is a normal date 1807 and one variation with an eight over a seven.

This coin would make a great addition to any collection and due to it's many variants it can be a difficult coin to properly ID for the novice coin collector.