1796 US Coins: Values & Mintages

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.

New this year: the Draped Bust Large Cent, the Draped Bust Quarter, the Draped Bust Half Dollar, the Draped Bust Dime and the Draped Bust Half Dime.

Last year of the Liberty Cap Large Cent.

The Mint in the 1790s

The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 created the United States Mint and set the dollar as the basic unit of money. The Mint was built in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, on Seventh Street. David Rittenhouse, the astronomer and scientist, was its first director and Henry Voigt served as chief coiner. Robert Scot became the first engraver in 1793 and cut the dies for most designs of the decade.

Coining was slow and hard work. Presses were turned by hand and silver and gold were coined only when depositors brought in bullion or foreign coins to be converted. Copper was always short; the Mint bought scrap and sheet copper wherever it could and from 1797 relied on planchets shipped from Matthew Boulton's works in Birmingham, England. Yellow fever epidemics in Philadelphia closed the Mint for weeks at a time in the late 1790s, which is one reason some dates of the decade are so scarce.

How many coins were made in 1796

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 515,629 coins dated 1796 across 6 issues. That is 44% fewer than in 1795 (916,849). In 1797 the figure rose to 967,298.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

Those coins held about 4,815 troy ounces of pure silver.

1796 coins by denomination

Cents: 473,200 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Liberty Cap Large Cent and Draped Bust Large Cent, down 12% on 1795. The scarcest is the 1796 (109,825) and the most plentiful the 1796 (363,375).

Dimes: 22,135 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Dime.

Quarters: 6,146 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Quarter.

Half Dollars: 3,918 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dollar, down 99% on 1795.

Odd Denominations: 10,230 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dime, down 87% on 1795.

Every 1796 circulation issue at a glance

• 1796 Draped Bust Half Dollar: 3,918 struck, the lowest mintage of all 7 Draped Bust Half Dollar issues.
• 1796 Draped Bust Quarter: 6,146 struck, the lowest mintage of all 5 Draped Bust Quarter issues.
• 1796 Draped Bust Half Dime: 10,230 struck, 2nd lowest of 7 in the series.
• 1796 Draped Bust Dime: 22,135 struck, 4th lowest of 10 in the series.
• 1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent: 109,825 struck, more than 60% of the series' 6 issues, up from 9 in 1795.
• 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent: 363,375 struck, 4th lowest of 12 in the series.

Liberty Cap Large Cent: Lighter cents and a plain edge

Rising copper costs led to a weight cut to 168 grains, confirmed by a presidential proclamation in January 1796. The year opened with cents carrying the lettered edge (about 37,000 recorded). The lettering was then dropped as planchets grew thinner. Plain edge cents made up most of the year with a reported 501,500 pieces. A reeded edge 1795 is known in only a handful of examples. The so called Jefferson Head cent of 1795, made by John Harper outside the Mint, is collected alongside the regular issues but is a separate piece.

In 1796 the Liberty Cap portrait shared the year with the new Draped Bust design. Only 109,825 Liberty Cap cents were reported before the switch. The thinner 1795 and 1796 planchets wore faster, so these dates are most often seen in Good to Fine with smooth, flattened hair. Because the Mint was still learning to make dies, many 1795 and 1796 cents show die cracks, clashing or weak centers, details that help specialists attribute each die marriage.

See every Liberty Cap Large Cent →

Draped Bust Large Cent: Gilbert Stuart's portrait and the overdate years

Robert Scot adapted Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Liberty for the cent in late 1796, keeping the 168 grain weight. The early dies vary a great deal: 1796 alone has several reverse styles plus the famous LIHERTY error, where the B was cut over an R. In 1797 the Mint used both stemmed and stemless wreaths. Copper planchets bought from Matthew Boulton's works in Birmingham, England, began to supplement American copper late in the decade and improved quality.

The Mint saved money by reusing old dies, which created the 1798/7 overdate, the 1799/8 and the two 1800 overdates (over 1798 and over 179). The 1799 is the key of the whole design: only 42,540 cents were reported that year, partly because yellow fever closed the Mint and many cents struck in 1799 still carried the 1798 date. Most 1799 cents survive heavily worn. Altered dates are common, so experts check the shape of every digit.

Dies in this period were cut and recut by hand, so a single date can show several arrangements of digits, stems and berries in the wreath. The 1799 overdate and the 1800 overdates over 1798 and 1799 belong to these years. Collectors attribute the different dies by Sheldon numbers, from Penny Whimsy, the standard reference on early cents.

See every Draped Bust Large Cent →

Draped Bust Quarter: The 1796 small eagle quarter and a long pause

The first United States quarter was struck only in 1796, with a recorded mintage of 6,146. Robert Scot's draped bust of Liberty faces right and the reverse shows a small, slender eagle standing on clouds inside a wreath. No denomination appears anywhere on the coin, so the public judged it by its size and weight alone.

No quarters were made from 1797 through 1803. Silver depositors at the Mint generally chose larger coins, while Spanish two reales pieces served as quarter dollars in everyday trade. Surviving 1796 quarters are rare, yet a notable share are well preserved and some have prooflike surfaces, which suggests that a few were saved as first-year keepsakes. Many show adjustment marks, the fine file lines left when an overweight planchet was filed down before striking. Repaired, holed and cleaned examples are common, so careful inspection matters with this date.

See every Draped Bust Quarter →

Draped Bust Half Dollar: Small eagle halves of 1796 and 1797

The Draped Bust half dollar appeared in 1796 with the small eagle reverse used on other silver of the time. Only about 3,918 were struck across 1796 and 1797, making it one of the great rarities among early silver type coins. Coins of 1796 show either 15 or 16 stars on the obverse, the extra star added for Tennessee's statehood, while 1797 has 15.

The denomination appears as the fraction 1/2 below the wreath on the reverse. No half dollars were made from 1798 through 1800 while depositors chose dollars for their silver. Surviving 1796 and 1797 halves are usually worn, holed or repaired. Even damaged pieces are eagerly collected because the type is so scarce. Counterfeits exist, so authentication by a grading service is wise before buying one.

See every Draped Bust Half Dollar →

Draped Bust Dime: The first dimes and the small eagle

The first American dimes were struck in 1796. Robert Scot's Draped Bust portrait, already used on other silver coins, shows Liberty with her hair tied by a ribbon and drapery at her shoulder. The reverse has a small eagle perched on clouds inside a wreath. There is no denomination anywhere on the coin. The portrait is traditionally said to follow a drawing by Gilbert Stuart, though that link is not documented. Users recognized the dime by its size and weight, 2.70 grams of silver 0.8924 fine and about 19 millimeters across.

Philadelphia struck 22,135 dimes dated 1796, all with fifteen stars on the obverse. In 1797 it made 25,261. Some 1797 coins have sixteen stars, one added for Tennessee, which had joined the Union in 1796. The Mint soon realized it could not keep adding stars, so other 1797 coins have thirteen stars, one for each original state.

These two dates are the only Draped Bust dimes with the small eagle reverse, which makes them important type coins. Both are significant rarities. Most survivors are worn and many have damage, holes or cleaning. The coins were struck one at a time on a screw press and planchets were often filed to the correct weight before striking. Those fine parallel file lines, called adjustment marks, are a sign of the period and are not damage. Count the stars, check the eagle and look for repairs.

See every Draped Bust Dime →

Draped Bust Half Dime: The Draped Bust and the small eagle

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.

See every Draped Bust Half Dime →