1807–1836: Capped Bust Half Dollar (Lettered Edge Type)

1812 Capped Bust Half Dollar Lettered Edge obverse and reverse

Coin specifications and design

Years made: 1807-1836

Country: United States

Denomination: Half dollar

Category: Circulating coin

Composition: 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper

Silver fineness: 89.24%

Silver weight: 0.3866 oz ASW

Weight: 13.48 g

Diameter: 32.5 mm

Thickness: Approx. 2.15 mm

Edge: Lettered

Designer: John Reich; later modifications by William Kneass

Design identification

Obverse: Liberty bust portrait.

Reverse: Heraldic eagle with shield, olive branch, arrows, and 50 C below.

1807–1836: Capped Bust Half Dollar (Lettered Edge Type) history

1807–1836: Capped Bust Half Dollar (Lettered Edge Type) began with John Reich’s 1807 redesign of the denomination. The broad planchet and edge inscription remained in use through 1836, while William Kneass made later hub and portrait modifications rather than jointly originating the entire type.

These halves became a major commercial denomination while dollar coinage was suspended. Overdates, lettered-edge variants, and Overton die marriages are important collecting fields, and the 1816 production gap should not be read as a missing entry from an otherwise unbroken annual run.