I have an 1836 5 cent liberty piece. It is thin and ridged, more like a dime. It doesn't seem that worn for a hundred and seventy years old. All thirteen six-pointed stars are visible on the front, as is the word "liberty". You can read "United States of America" , "e pluribus unum", and "5 c." on the back. Any ideas?
Yep,that's pretty old all right.Of course,to me,nothing made after 1500 AD is old but that's another story. What you have is called a "capped bust" half dime..or 5 cents, because of the cap on miss Liberty's head. I googled it and you can go to some of these places to read about your coin. http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=1836 capped bust half dime&btnG=Google+Search&sa=N&tab=wi And here is the BEST article about them I've ever read. http://www.coinresource.com/guide/photograde/pg_05cCappedBustHalfDime.htm