1803 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1803

The last silver dollars for decades were struck with this date. Dollar coinage stopped in 1804 and President Jefferson's administration formally suspended it in 1806 because the coins were being exported rather than circulating.

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 1803

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 3,390,815 coins dated 1803 across 4 issues. That is close to the 1802 total of 3,479,025. In 1804 the figure fell to 111,503.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

Those coins held about 76,827 troy ounces of pure silver.

1803 coins by denomination

Cents: 3,131,691 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Large Cent, down 8.8% on 1802.

Dimes: 33,040 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Dime, up 201% on 1802.

Half Dollars: 188,234 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dollar, up 530% on 1802.

Odd Denominations: 37,850 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dime, up 1137% on 1802.

Every 1803 circulation issue at a glance

• 1803 Draped Bust Dime: 33,040 struck, more than 67% of the series' 10 issues, up from 10,975 in 1802.
• 1803 Draped Bust Half Dime: 37,850 struck, more than 67% of the series' 7 issues, up from 3,060 in 1802.
• 1803 Draped Bust Half Dollar: 188,234 struck, more than 50% of the series' 7 issues, up from 29,890 in 1802.
• 1803 Draped Bust Large Cent: 3,131,691 struck, more than 91% of the series' 12 issues, similar to 1802.

Draped Bust Large Cent: Engraving errors, the rare 1804 and peak output

Production surged early in this period, with more than 3.4 million cents in 1802 and over 3.1 million in 1803. Hand punched dies produced a run of memorable mistakes: the 1801 Three Errors reverse shows a 1/000 fraction, a single stem and IINITED for UNITED. Cents of 1802 and 1803 also turn up with the 1/000 fraction. The 1803 has small and large date and fraction combinations collectors pair by die.

The 1804 is a classic rarity. The Mint reported 96,500 cents that year, but many of them were likely dated 1803, so true 1804 cents are scarce. A restrike made outside the Mint from discarded dies around 1860 is a different piece. Altered dates are common, so the 1804 is one cent that should always be authenticated. Output fell to 348,000 in 1806, then recovered in 1807, which brings the 1807/6 overdate and the Comet variety with a die break behind the head. Survivors from these years are often dark brown with some porosity.

Some of the best-known early copper varieties come from hurried die work in these years. The 1801 "3 Errors" reverse shows the fraction as 1/000, a single stem on the wreath and IINITED for UNITED. The 1802 "stemless wreath" and the 1803 reverse with 1/100 over 1/000 are other examples. Mintages passed three million in 1802 and 1803, which makes this the most affordable stretch for collecting Draped Bust cents.

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Draped Bust Half Dollar: Heraldic eagle halves

Half dollars returned in 1801 with the heraldic eagle reverse. The 1801 (30,289) and 1802 (29,890) are scarce, but output climbed to 188,234 in 1803, which comes with small and large 3 varieties. No halves are dated 1804. The 1805/4 overdate shows that an unused 1804 die was altered and put to work.

The 1806 is the most varied date, with knobbed and pointed 6, an 1806/5 overdate and reverses with or without a stem through the eagle's claw. Mintage reached 839,576 that year. In 1807 the Draped Bust half was struck early in the year before John Reich's Capped Bust design took over. Heraldic halves are the most available early half dollar type, usually seen in Very Good to Fine with weak stars.

Heraldic eagle halves of 1805 to 1807 were struck in much larger numbers than the earlier dates, so they are the most collectible pieces of the type. The 1805/4 overdate and the 1806 varieties with a pointed or knobbed 6 are popular with specialists, who identify die pairs by Overton numbers. Many coins show adjustment marks, fine file lines made at the Mint to bring heavy planchets down to the legal weight, which are not counted as damage.

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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.

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Draped Bust Half Dime: The 1802 rarity and the last early half dimes

The 1802 half dime is one of the great rarities of early American silver. Mint records list 3,060, the lowest figure of the type. Only a few dozen are known. All were struck from a single pair of dies. Its reverse die was also used for some 1801 and 1803 half dimes. Collectors have prized the 1802 since the middle of the 1800s. Many major collections of the past never found one.

The Mint struck 37,850 half dimes in 1803, with Large 8 and Small 8 versions. No half dimes are dated 1804. The 15,600 coins of 1805 were the last half dimes for more than twenty years and are scarce, with most survivors in circulated grades. Mint figures of this time record deliveries by year rather than the date on the coins. Some specialists believe far fewer than 3,060 half dimes actually bear the 1802 date.

Because the 1802 is so valuable, any example needs expert authentication. Check that the date has not been altered from another year. For the 1803, compare the size of the 8 with the other digits. With no denomination on these coins, size is the quickest clue: a half dime is about 16.5 millimeters across, noticeably smaller than a dime of the same years. The half dime did not return until 1829, when William Kneass's Capped Bust design brought it back.

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