Capped Bust Half Dollar Value Chart: Every Date From 1807 to 1839

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Capped Bust halves struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1838-O Capped Bust Half Dollar: 20 made.
2. 1836 Capped Bust Half Dollar, Reeded Edge: 1,200 made.
3. 1815 Capped Bust Half Dollar: 47,150 made.
4. 1839-O Capped Bust Half Dollar: 116,000 made.
5. 1807 Capped Bust Half Dollar: 750,500 made.
6. 1820 Capped Bust Half Dollar: 751,122 made.

Every capped bust half dollar by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 4 stages

John Reich's half and the bank reserve years (1807 to 1814)

John Reich's Capped Bust half dollar replaced the Draped Bust in 1807, with 750,500 struck that year. First-year varieties include small stars, large stars, a 50 over 20 denomination and the so-called Bearded Liberty, named for a die break under the chin. Output then stayed above one million a year through 1814, reaching 1,628,059 in 1812.

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.

Peak lettered edge production (1825 to 1835)

From 1825 the Mint struck about three to more than six million halves a year, reaching 6,412,004 in 1834. These high mintages make the dates of the late 1820s and early 1830s the most available Capped Bust halves and the usual choice for a type set. The lettered edge still reads FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR.

Steam press and reeded edge (1836 to 1839)

In late 1836 the Mint used its new steam-powered press to strike a redesigned half dollar modified by Christian Gobrecht. It was smaller, at about 30 mm, with a reeded edge in place of the lettered one. Only 1,200 reeded edge halves are dated 1836. Lettered edge halves were also struck that year, including an error with 50 over 00 in the denomination.

Decade by decade

• 1800s: 3 issues, 3.5 million coins. Scarcest: 1807 (750,500).
• 1810s: 9 issues, 12 million coins. Scarcest: 1815 (47,150).
• 1820s: 10 issues, 28 million coins. Scarcest: 1820 (751,122).
• 1830s: 13 issues, 48 million coins. Scarcest: 1838-O (20).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1807 to 1837: No mint mark. Struck in Philadelphia.
• 1838 to 1839: Above the date on the obverse (1838-O and 1839-O only).

Identifying and grading Capped Bust halves

Look at the curls near the ear, the clasp at the shoulder and the eagle's neck and wings.

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.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.