The half dime, or half disme, was a silver coin, valued at five cents, formerly minted in the United States.
The denomination was one of the original coins first authorized in 1792, and production began in February 1795. These coins were much smaller than dimes in diameter and thickness, appearing to be "half dimes". In the 1860s, powerful nickel interests successfully lobbied for the creation of new coins, which would be made of a copper-nickel alloy; production of such coins began in 1865 and were struck in two denominations — three and five cents (the latter introduced in 1866).
The introduction of the copper-nickel five-cent pieces made the silver coins of the same denomination redundant, and they were discontinued in 1873.
The following types of half dimes were produced by the United States Mint:
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Flowing Hair Pattern, 1792
Flowing Hair 1794-1795
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Draped Bust (Small Eagle Reverse) 1796-1797
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Draped Bust (Heraldic Eagle Reverse) 1800-1805
Capped Bust 1829-1837
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Seated Liberty (various subtypes) 1837-1873
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1870-S half dime
In 1978 a coin collector surprised the coin collecting community with an 1870-S (San Francisco) half dime, believed to have been found in a dealer's box of cheap coins at a coin show. According to mint records for 1870, no half dimes had been minted in San Francisco; yet, here was a genuine 1870-S half dime. At an auction later that same year, the 1870-S half dime sold for $425,000. It is believed that another example may exist, along with other denominations minted that year in San Francisco in the cornerstone of the old San Francisco Mint.
Canada
Canada also once used silver coins of five-cent denomination; they were colloquially referred to as "fish scales," due to the fact that they were very thin (the term "half dime" never having been used in Canada), and were produced until Canada also switched to nickel five-cent pieces in 1922. With the decision to change to nickel, the remaining stock of 5 cent silver, including almost all of the 1921 production, was melted down. Only about 400 examples of the 1921 5 cent survive today and these coins rank among the best known rare coins in the annals of Canadian numismatics.
See also
External links
| Preceded by Denomination Created |
Five Cent Coin of the United States 1792–1873 |
Succeeded by Nickel |
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