1800 US Coins: Values & Mintages

The Mint in the 1800s

In 1800 the national capital moved to Washington, but the Mint stayed in Philadelphia. Congress renewed it only for a few years at a time and there were serious proposals to close it and contract coinage out. Elias Boudinot served as director until 1805 and the scientist Robert Patterson took over early in 1806, running the Mint for almost two decades.

Large silver and gold coins were being exported or melted rather than circulating, so the silver dollar and the $10 eagle stopped in 1804 and were formally suspended in 1806. The half dime was not struck after 1805 and the quarter stopped after 1807. The Mint concentrated on cents and half dollars, which became the most useful coins for banks. In 1807 the German-born engraver John Reich joined the Mint and introduced the Capped Bust designs.

How many coins were made in 1800

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 2,883,935 coins dated 1800 across 3 issues. That is 6679% more than in 1799 (42,540). In 1801 the figure fell to 1,455,526.

No earlier year on our list comes close: it was the largest output up to that point.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

Those coins held about 3,235 troy ounces of pure silver.

1800 coins by denomination

Cents: 2,822,175 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Large Cent, up 6534% on 1799.

Dimes: 21,760 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Dime.

Odd Denominations: 40,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dime.

Every 1800 circulation issue at a glance

• 1800 Draped Bust Dime: 21,760 struck, 3rd lowest of 10 in the series, down from 27,550 in 1798.
• 1800 Draped Bust Half Dime: 40,000 struck, more than 83% of the series' 7 issues, similar to 1797.
• 1800 Draped Bust Large Cent: 2,822,175 struck, more than 82% of the series' 12 issues, up from 42,540 in 1799.

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 Dime: The heraldic eagle and small runs

In 1798 the dime received a new reverse, while the obverse kept thirteen stars from then on. The new reverse was the heraldic eagle adapted from the Great Seal. The eagle has a shield on its breast and holds arrows and an olive branch. A ribbon in its beak reads E PLURIBUS UNUM and stars and clouds sit above its head. The same eagle was used on the quarter eagle. Because the two coins were almost the same size, the Mint sometimes shared reverse dies between them.

Mintages stayed small. The figures of this period record coins delivered in each calendar year, not coins of each date. Philadelphia delivered 27,550 dimes in 1798, a total that includes 1798/97 overdates and a Small 8 variety. No dimes are dated 1799. In 1800 there were 21,760, in 1801 34,640, in 1802 just 10,975 and in 1803 33,040. The 1802 is the scarcest of these dates.

All of these dates are scarce and collectors attribute them by die pairs using JR numbers, from the standard reference published by the John Reich Collectors Society. When you check a dime from these years, read the date carefully. The 1798/97 shows traces of a 7 under the 8. Then look at the reverse to confirm the heraldic eagle. Most survivors are in low grades with soft strikes in places, which is normal for coins of the time.

See every Draped Bust Dime →

Draped Bust Half Dime: The heraldic eagle arrives

No half dimes were struck in 1798 or 1799. When production resumed in 1800 the reverse showed the heraldic eagle. A shield covers its body and it holds an olive branch and arrows. A ribbon in its beak reads E PLURIBUS UNUM, with thirteen stars and a line of clouds above its head. There is still no denomination. The same heraldic eagle appeared on the dime and dollar from 1798 and later on the half dollar and quarter.

Philadelphia struck 40,000 half dimes in 1800, the largest total of the heraldic eagle years. The LIBEKTY variety comes from a damaged R punch with part of the letter missing, so LIBERTY seems to read LIBEKTY. In 1801 the Mint struck 27,760. Both dates are scarce today but available to collectors willing to look. The 1800 LIBEKTY is popular because the odd letter is easy to see without a magnifier.

Half dimes circulated hard and were often lost or melted, so most survivors are worn. Check the date and the reverse first, then the letters of LIBERTY. Strike weakness on the stars and clouds is normal for the period. Watch for holes, repairs and cleaning, which are common on such small coins. Logan-McCloskey numbers are used to attribute the dies. Like every early half dime, these coins come only from Philadelphia and carry no mint mark.

See every Draped Bust Half Dime →