Half Dimes: History & Meaning

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A version of this article was originally published by Certified Acceptance Corporation in early 2024. To read the expanded article, click here.

Silver coins with a face value of 5 cents, half dimes were minted from 1794 to 1873, though not during every year in between. Half dimes were struck long before nickels were even imagined in the United States. Both 5-cent nickels and 3-cent nickels consist of an alloy of 25-percent nickel and 75-percent copper. Half dimes never contained any nickel and were specified to be half the weight of corresponding dimes from the same respective time period. 

There are nine design types of half dimes. In discussions that explain that 1792 half dismes are patterns, not coins, it is emphasized that the U.S. coinage system and the U.S. monetary system overall were gradually adopted by U.S. citizens. In North America, the British Isles, and Western Europe before the 1770s, no one was thinking in terms of a decimal system, except a few scientists and philosophers like Thomas Jefferson. Generally, decimal systems were not then used for a coinage system or for business accounting.

Design Type 1: Flowing Hair

From long before the founding of the United States in 1776 until at least until the mid 1830s, the vast majority of silver coins in circulation in the United States were of the Spanish Empire and directly related societies. There were no half dimes dated from 1806 to 1828 because there were large quantities of half-real coins and some quarter-real coins in circulation in America. Half dimes were not demanded. Early half dimes and dimes foreshadowed the future of the U.S. monetary sytem. Of course, more and more merchants over time adopted the new U.S. system, and there was significant demand for U.S. half dimes by the 1830s, and always a little demand before then. Curiously, all 1794 half dimes were struck in 1795, though 1794 half dollars and silver dollars were struck in 1794.

Design Types 2 & 3: Draped Bust Small & Heraldic Eagle

Draped Bust obverse, Small Eagle reverse half dimes, dimes, and half dollars were minted in 1796 and 1797. Quarter dollars of the same design constitute a one-year type, 1796 only. The “Small Eagle” is often thought to be symbolic of the fact that the United States was then a young and growing nation, destined to become larger and stronger. The heraldic eagle motif is based upon the design of the Great Seal of the United States, which was formally adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1782.

Design Type 4: Capped Bust 

Although production of half dimes temporarily ceased in 1805, Capped Bust half dollars were introduced in 1807 and Capped Bust dimes were first minted in 1809. The first Capped Bust quarters are dated 1815, yet Capped Bust half dimes were not introduced until 1829. From 1794 to 1836, half dimes, along with other U.S. silver coins, were specified to be of an alloy of 89.243-percent silver (1485/1664) and 10.757-percent copper. The U.S. Mint Act of 1837, which was passed on January 18, 1837, changed the composition to 90-percent silver (“900 fine”) and 10-percent copper.

Design Type 5: Liberty Seated, No Stars

As Liberty Seated half dimes were introduced during 1837, it is likely that these were minted in accordance with the new standard and thus were intended to be 90-percent silver. Liberty Seated dimes, quarters, and half dollars lasted until 1891. Liberty Seated silver dollars, along with half dimes, were terminated in 1873.

Design Type 6: Liberty Seated, No Drapery

Half dimes were the first of the Liberty Seated types. Quarters followed in 1838, half dollars in 1839, and silver dollars in 1840. The first U.S. branch mint to produce U.S. silver coins was established in New Orleans in 1838, and 1838-O half dimes were minted there. Half dimes generally weigh half as much as corresponding dimes and contain half the silver content. The diameter of each half dime, however, is more than half the diameter of a corresponding dime. Half dimes are thinner, in terms of “physical depth.” Indeed, half dimes were often accidentally bent. The Mint Act of 1853 reduced the authorized weight of each half dime to 19.2 grains. The reduction in weight was announced by the addition of arrows to the obverse designs of half dimes, dimes, quarters, and half dollars.

Design Types 7, 8, & 9: Liberty Seated Arrows, Stars, Legend

The obverse fields of the initial type of Liberty Seated half dimes (1837-38) are plain. In 1838 stars were added to the designs of half dimes and dimes. The “With Drapery” design was introduced in 1840. James Longacre was responsible for substantial changes that were effected in 1860. The legend, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, was moved from the reverse to the obverse. The letters in “half dime” were reduced in size. A plain wreath was replaced by a larger wreath that featured multiple agricultural products, including corn and wheat. The half dimes of 1860-73 are of a clearly different design type.

The Coinage Act & Impacting Factors

The Coinage Act of 1873 brought about major changes in coinage policy. One provision abolished half dimes altogether. The advent of 3-cent nickels in 1865 and of 5-cent nickels in 1866 diminished the role of half dimes. Moreover, it was less costly for the U.S. Mint to manufacture 5-cent nickels, as these did not contain any silver. Nickels were also indicative of a shift in political and economic views.

Before the U.S. Civil War, a non-silver 5-cent coin would not have been widely accepted and would have been viewed with suspicion. By the mid 1860s, U.S. citizens were far more accepting of coins that had intrinsic values that were much lower than their respective face values.

While people in the 1860s and 1870s still cared about the intrinsic values of dimes, quarters, and half dollars, the Coinage Act of 1853 was a watershed in that all silver coins valued under one dollar were specified to have an intrinsic value that was less than their respective face value. A half dime contained less than 5 cents worth of silver, and a dime contained less than 10 cents worth of silver. Thus, people had a stronger motive to spend, rather than hoard, half dimes, dimes, quarters, and half dollars.

The discovery of large quantities of gold in California, beginning in 1849, had upset the balance between the values of silver and gold. A major increase in the supply of gold caused the market value to fall below its legally specified U.S. dollar value, and the value of silver increased such that people had a financial motive to hoard silver coins.

Three-cent silvers in 1851, the already mentioned silver denominations in 1853, 3-cent nickels in 1865, and 5-cent nickels in 1866 all were part of a major change in monetary policy and attitudes. Societal attitudes about coins and money had changed.

Half dimes became obsolete because an overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens were willing to accept and frequently spend 5-cent coins that had no silver content. Before 1850, a 5-cent coin without silver would have been unthinkable.