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Message:: [QUOTE="tacobelldog52, post: 1352389, member: 32094"]The Half Dime/Disme   The half dime was one of the first coins minted in the United States under the 1792 Coinage Act. The founding fathers of our ( at the time ) struggling nation knew that it was necessary to have our own identity, including coinage. The United States up until that time had relied almost solely on foreign currency. George Washington in his State of the Union Address on November 6[SUP]th[/SUP] 1792 spoke of the construction of a mint, which we now know as the Philadelphia mint. He said that there was great interest in smaller denominations of currency specifically mentioning the half dime. George Washington was so eager to get the coins into production that they where first coined not at a mint, but in the basement of John Harper. Legend has it that the silver used to produce the 1792 half dime was the melted silverware of George Washington himself.  The 1792 is particularly unique in that Martha Washington is believed to have been the model used for lady liberty. The edge of the coin also is “edged” vertically rather than horizontally like we see today commonly referred to as a “reeded edge”. Like the other designs to come in later years, the half dime was smaller and thinner than the early silver dimes at only 17.5 mm in diameter. The coin is inscribed with Industry Lib Par of science translated to “ Liberty Parent of Science and Industry”. Original mintage is estimated at only 1,500 , and only a couple hundred are known  to exist today.   [ATTACH]157008.vB[/ATTACH] 1792 Flowing Hair Half Disme    There are numismatists who believe that the 1792 half dime was never minted for circulation, however most have abandoned this position due to signs of circulation, and some people have been lucky enough to find an example while metal detecting.  The next mintage of half dimes would not be minted until 1794. It also holds a place in history as the first legal tender US silver coin produced at the newly built Philadelphia mint. The new engraver Robert Scot a watchmaker by trait would not only engrave the half dime, but most of early US currency. The Martha Washington modeled bust was replaced with a new lady liberty. This design was widely criticized, leading it to only be minted for 2 shortened years.  Many thought that lady Liberty’s flowing hair gave the impression that she was scared. The eagle was also thought to look weak or sickly.  The Latin inscription found on the first half dime was replaced with 15 stars representing the number of states in union. Olive branches were also added around the eagle to represent America’s hope for peace after almost a decade of war. Although dates for this coin range from 1794 to 1795 non were actually minted in 1794. The coins with a date of 1794 were actually minted in March 1795 and pre-dated.                                                                                                                           [ATTACH]157009.vB[/ATTACH] 1794-1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime    The next year 1796 would see the half dime redesigned again. Robert Scot and John Ecksein engraved the design off a sketch by Gilbert Stuart. Gilbert Stuart is regarded as one of, if not the greatest early colonial painters. Many of the images we have of George Washington were created by Stuart. <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Gilbert_Stuart%2C_George_Washington_(Lansdowne_portrait%2C_1796).jpg/373px-Gilbert_Stuart%2C_George_Washington_(Lansdowne_portrait%2C_1796).jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />   George Washington by Gilbert Stuart 1796 The fifteen star design was issued until 1797 when Tennessee was admitted to the union and a sixteenth star was added. They came to the realization that adding a star for each new state was impractical, and reduced the number that same year to thirteen, representing the original colonies. The Philadelphia mint would go through a period of almost ten years with low mintages. This was due to outbreaks of yellow fever. [ATTACH]157010.vB[/ATTACH] 1796-1797 Draped Bust Half Dime (Small Eagle Reverse)  In 1800 Staurt, Scot, and Eckstein would redesign the half dime replacing the “sickly” looking eagle previously on the back with one based off of the Great Seat of the United States. This rendition of the eagle would be called the Heraldic Eagle. The key date for the half dime series is also found in this mintage. In 1802 only 3,060 were produced, and around 20 are known to exist today. Also in 1800 due to a broken “R” on the press coins were minted with the word “LIKERTY”.  [ATTACH]157011.vB[/ATTACH] 1800-1805 Draped Bust Half Dime (Heraldic Eagle Reverse) Between 1805 and 1837 no half dimes where produced. Most believe this was due to a higher demand for lower denominations like the Cent and Half Cent. This demand for currency under 5 cents would also lead to the 2 and 3 cent coins 30 years later. After more than 20 years the half dime was put back into production with a new design. This was the first time half dimes also had their denomination on them “ 5c “ [ATTACH]157012.vB[/ATTACH] 1829-1837 Capped Bust Half Dime  In 1837 the half dime would see its last design. This would be the first half dime that was not a bust featured on the coin. Instead it depicted lady liberty in a seated position, had four different varieties, and was minted at 3 U.S. mints, making it the only half dime coined outside of Philadelphia.<img src="http://www.coin-collecting-guide-for-beginners.com/image-files/1837_liberty_seated_half_dime.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> 1837-1873 Seated Liberty Half Dime  With the outbreak of the civil war and the turmoil caused by it, the half dime slowly slipped into history, being replaced by a non precious metal five cent piece made out of nickel. The half dime series is full of history therefore placing it in high favor of numismatists everywhere.[/QUOTE]

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