U.S. Mint coin reference
Braided Hair half cents are the final regular half-cent design before the denomination ended in 1857.
History: The Braided Hair Half Cent was the final regular half-cent design, issued for circulation from 1849 through 1857 after proof-only examples dated 1840-1848.
Obverse: Liberty faces left wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, with thirteen stars around and the date below.
Reverse: HALF CENT appears within a wreath, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The Braided Hair half cent represents the final design of the smallest denomination ever issued by the United States. Christian Gobrecht revised the earlier Classic Head style, giving Liberty a more refined portrait with braided hair. Proof-only examples were made during much of the 1840s before regular circulation production resumed in 1849. The denomination was discontinued in 1857 as rising copper costs and changing commercial needs made the half cent increasingly impractical.