Draped Bust Half Cent

The Draped Bust half cent was the replacement for the Liberty Cap half cent coin of 1794 through 1797. It was designed by Robert Scot and is a true Jeffersonian coin. It existed from 1800 to 1808 which is when Thomas Jefferson was President.

A new type of Liberty bust was featured on the new Draped Bust. She looked more feminine and younger with long hair that flowed and curled down her back. The top of her bust was showing, although covered by drapery. The edge is plain and on the reverse a wreath and “Half Cent” inside the wreath was featured, virtually unchanged from the half cents of 1793 and 1794 to 1797.

The public did not particularly like the half cent denomination, but in spite of that there were 211,530 Draped Bust coins minted, which was quite significant for the time. The reason the U.S. made half cents in the first place had to do with the proliferation of Spanish-Colonial silver coins that were circulating in the United States. The U.S. Mint was making silver coins at this time, but not enough. The public still liked to use the Spanish and Spanish-Colonial silver as goods were often priced in Spanish measurements.

Even though the half cent did circulate, it did not flood U.S. commerce as the large cent was the popular small change coin of choice. It is not too rare to run across a Draped Bust half cent in Fine or Very Fine condition, but do keep in mind that they are not exactly laying around. The Draped Bust is the one most available and affordable U.S. coins for collectors today.