1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 1,215,564 made
- Mintage
- 1,215,564
- Metal
- 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper
- Weight
- 13.48 g
- Diameter
- 32.5 mm (lettered edge); 30 mm (reeded edge)
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,215,564 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper and holds 0.3868 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar?
- No mint mark. Struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1817 are scarcer?
- The 1815 at 47,150, the 1820 at 751,122, the 1814 at 1,039,075. So the 1817 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar coins were made?
- 1,215,564.
What to check on your 1817
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the curls near the ear, the clasp at the shoulder and the eagle's neck and wings.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1817
Philadelphia hadn't struck the Capped Bust Half Dollar since 1815. When it came back in 1817, it made 1,215,564. In 1818 the figure was 2 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1817 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1811 (1,203,644) and the 1813 (1,241,903).
Across Philadelphia's 33 Capped Bust Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1836, Reeded Edge with 1,200 made. The 1817 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1810s it's 4th smallest of 9, between the 1811 (1.2 million) and the 1813 (1.2 million).
The 1815/2 and a run of overdates (1815 to 1824)
Only 47,150 halves bear the 1815 date and all of them are overdates over a 2. A fire at the Mint in January 1816 damaged the rolling mill. No halves are dated 1816. The 1815/2 is the key date of the whole Capped Bust half series and is scarce in every grade. Most survivors show heavy wear.
Production resumed in 1817 and passed two million by 1819. The 1817/3 and the very rare 1817/4 head a long list of overdates that includes 1818/7, 1819/8, 1820/19, 1822/1 and 1824/1. The 1817 punctuated date shows a dot-like die flaw between 181 and 7. Many coins of this era show cracked dies or repunched letters, a sign that dies were kept in service as long as possible.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1817
Some 1817 cents were struck from a die with 15 stars around Liberty instead of the usual 13, an engraving mistake that is now a popular variety.
How to recognize it
John Reich's Liberty faces left in a cloth cap with a band inscribed LIBERTY, surrounded by stars with the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with a shield on its breast and the value 50 C. (later 50 CENTS and HALF DOL.). Coins to 1836 have a lettered edge; later coins are reeded and slightly smaller. Hundreds of die marriages make this a favorite series for variety specialists.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Capped Bust Half Dollar (1807–1839) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1817 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,215,564 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Weight | 13.48 grams |
| Diameter | 32.5 mm (lettered edge); 30 mm (reeded edge) |
| Edge | Lettered to 1836, then reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3868 troy oz (12.030 g) |
| Designer | John Reich; reeded-edge version by Christian Gobrecht |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.