By R.W. Julian

When coin collecting became a national hobby in the late 1850s, the first coins to be sought after were the early copper cents and half cents. The cents got the most attention but the half cents had their own partisan followers and were not all that far behind.

In the earliest days of collecting there was little in the way of printed numismatic material that could be used as a guide. The only readily available information was to be found in the annual reports of the Mint director, which fortunately were found in printed compilations of government documents. Sometimes these records were frustrating, as, for example, that of 1799, which reported half cent coinage but none could be found by even the most diligent searching. It was some time before it was realized that there never had been a 1799 half cent. Read Full Story