1796 Draped Bust Half Dime

The story of the 1796

1796 was the first year of the Draped Bust Half Dime. Philadelphia struck 10,230 of them. In 1797 the figure was 44,527.

No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1796 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1805 (15,600) and the 1801 (27,760).

Only the 1802 has a lower mintage among Philadelphia's 7 Draped Bust Half Dimes.

More on the 1796

The 1796 is the first Draped Bust half dime and the first year of Robert Scot's new portrait on the denomination. Philadelphia delivered 10,230, all with fifteen stars and the small eagle reverse. That total includes two well known varieties.

The 1796/5 overdate was struck from a die first dated 1795 and repunched with a 6. Traces of the 5 can be seen under the 6 with a magnifier. The LIKERTY variety comes from a broken B punch in LIBERTY, which leaves the letter looking like a K. Both are collected alongside the normal date. All 1796 half dimes are significant rarities and many survivors show heavy wear or damage. Adjustment marks from filing at the Mint are common and are not damage. Check the date, read LIBERTY letter by letter and examine the reeded edge. The 1797 that followed was struck in much larger numbers, 44,527, with three different star counts.

The Draped Bust and the small eagle (1796 to 1797)

In 1796 Robert Scot's Draped Bust portrait replaced the Flowing Hair on the half dime. Mint Director Henry William DeSaussure, who served only a few months in 1795, wanted better designs for all silver coins. The portrait had appeared on the dollar late in 1795 and soon spread to all the silver and copper coins. The new Liberty has her hair tied with a ribbon and drapery at her shoulder. The reverse keeps a small eagle perched inside a wreath and there is still no denomination on the coin.

Philadelphia struck 10,230 half dimes dated 1796. That total includes the 1796/5 overdate and the LIKERTY variety, where a broken B punch makes LIBERTY read like LIKERTY. In 1797 the Mint made 44,527. The 1797 coins come with fifteen stars, sixteen stars after Tennessee joined the Union in 1796 and finally thirteen stars, when the Mint gave up adding stars for new states. The thirteen star coin is the one collectors seek hardest.

These are the only Draped Bust half dimes with the small eagle reverse, so they are an important type. All are significant rarities and most survivors are well worn. Many show adjustment marks from filing at the Mint, as well as old damage. Count the stars, read LIBERTY carefully and look for a reeded edge. Every one was struck by hand on a screw press at Philadelphia.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1796

The first quarter dollars, dimes and $2.50 quarter eagles were struck in 1796, completing the denominations authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The Draped Bust design reached the cent and the smaller silver coins the same year.