Half cent (United States coin)

Half cent
United States
Value	0.5 cents or 0.005 US dollars
Diameter	23.5 mm
Thickness	2 mm
Edge	lettered (1793, 1797); plain (1794–1857); gripped (1797);
Composition	100% copper
Years of minting	1793–1857
Obverse
Design	Lady Liberty with braided hair
Designer	Christian Gobrecht
Design date	1840
Reverse
Design	Denomination surrounded by a wreath
Design date	1840
Design discontinued	1857

The half cent was the smallest denomination of United States coin ever minted. It was first minted in 1793 and last minted in 1857. In that time, it had purchasing power equivalent to between 12¢ and 17¢ in 2024 values.^[1] It was minted with five different designs.

^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[inflation-US-1] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.

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