1794 Flowing Hair Half Dime

The story of the 1794

1794 was the first year of the Flowing Hair Half Dime. Philadelphia struck 7,756 of them. In 1795 the figure was 78,660.

No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1794 you find is from Philadelphia.

More on the 1794

Although it carries the date 1794, this half dime was struck and delivered in 1795. The dies were prepared in 1794, but the coins themselves were struck the following year. Of the 86,416 half dimes delivered in 1795, references attribute 7,756 to the 1794 dies.

That small number makes the 1794 far scarcer than the 1795 and a significant rarity in any grade. It is also the earliest date of a regular issue American half dime. Several die marriages exist and specialists collect them by LM number. Many survivors are worn, bent or holed. Some show adjustment marks, fine file lines made at the Mint to bring heavy planchets down to weight. Check the date first, since the last digit is what separates this from the far more common 1795. Then look at Liberty's hair and the eagle. Any example should be authenticated, as counterfeits are known. Its companion, the 1795, accounts for the other 78,660 coins.

The first half dimes (1794 to 1795)

The half dime was one of the denominations created by the Coinage Act of 1792. A small number of half dismes were made in 1792, but regular half dimes began only with the Flowing Hair design. Robert Scot's Liberty faces right with long hair falling freely down her neck. Fifteen stars surround her, eight on the left and seven on the right. The reverse has a small eagle with spread wings inside a wreath and the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. There is no denomination on the coin.

Mint records show 86,416 half dimes delivered in 1795. Of those, 7,756 are attributed to dies dated 1794 and 78,660 to dies dated 1795. The 1794 coins were struck in 1795 from dies prepared the year before. Both dates are struck in 1.35 grams of silver 0.8924 fine, about 16.5 millimeters across, with a reeded edge. All were made at Philadelphia on a screw press.

Critics did not like the portrait or the eagle and the design was replaced by the Draped Bust in 1796. For collectors, the Flowing Hair half dime is a two-year type and every example carries a strong collector premium. The 1794 is much scarcer than the 1795. Many survivors are worn and some show adjustment marks, fine lines where the planchet was filed to the correct weight before striking. Counterfeits exist, so have any example authenticated.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1794

Silver arrived in 1794 with the first Flowing Hair dollars, half dollars and half dimes. Fewer than 2,000 dollars were delivered that year because the Mint's press was too small for coins of that size.