Half Dollar Value

On the morning of March 4, 1801, as Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office as the third President of the United States, a modest number of silver half dollars bearing the elegant Draped Bust design were being struck at the Philadelphia Mint. These coins—minted in the first year of a new century and a…

The auction room fell silent as the weathered silver disc emerged from its protective holder. Even after 225 years, the profile of Liberty remained clearly visible beneath the light patina, her flowing hair draped naturally across her shoulders. When the gavel finally fell at $1.15 million for this particular 1797 Draped Bust half dollar specimen…

A Coin That Almost Never Was When Benjamin Dudley presented his dies to the Philadelphia Mint in early 1795, the nation was just months away from abandoning the Flowing Hair design entirely. The half dollar denomination—destined to become America’s workhorse coin for the next century—barely made it into production with Liberty’s flowing locks. Of the…

A Glimpse of American History in Silver The year is 1795, and a wealthy Philadelphia merchant carefully examines a strange new coin that has only recently entered circulation. The man’s weathered fingers trace the flowing locks of Liberty on the obverse, feeling the raised edges of what is still an unfamiliar design. The coin is…

A Fleeting American Treasure In the candlelight of a small Philadelphia workshop, a silver planchet was struck with dies bearing the new nation’s hopeful design—a free-flowing portrait of Liberty with hair loosely bound. For just that single year, 1796, America’s half dollar would bear 15 stars, representing each state in the young union. Then, as…