United States 1795 half dollar

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This type, the first half dollar issued by the United States, was minted 1794-95 at the Philadelphia mint. Tho not cheap, it is probably the most available of the flowing hair silver coinage (half dime, half dollar and dollar). Survivors have been carefully studied and over three dozen die varieties identified, the result of handmade dies. The superseding type, the draped bust half dollar with the small eagle reverse, is one of the rarest types in the U. S. series.

Recorded Mintage: 299,980 (all varieties).

Specification: 13.48 g, .892 fine silver, 32.5 mm diameter, lettered edge.

Catalog reference: KM 16.

Source:

• Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
• Harper, David C., ed., North American Coins & Prices: A Guide to U. S., Canadian and Mexican Coins, 17th Ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2007.
• Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 59th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2005.

Link to:

• 1794 cent
• Mexico 1795-Mo FM 4 reales
• Coins and currency dated 1795
• return to United States Flowing Hair Half Dollar (1794-1795)