Common, scarce and rare U.S. half dimes (half dismes; 1794-1873) at Mintmark.com; includes Flowing Hair (1794-95); Draped Bust (1796-97); Capped Bust (1829-37); and Liberty Seated (1837-73) half dimes.
". . . 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 the following year. 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 . . . 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 . . ." — Half dime at Wikipedia. This version was edited and (or) revised by Mintmark.com.
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