1776 United States 1/2 penny Value
A 1776 United States 1/2 penny is worth roughly its melt value to well into four figures depending on its condition. Where your coin lands depends on wear, strike and surface quality.
Public domain image (struck or printed before 1926). Click to enlarge.
1776 United States 1/2 penny value by grade
| Grade | Estimated value |
|---|
Estimated retail range. Estimates are modeled from mintage rarity and metal content, not auction records. Actual sale prices vary with certification, eye appeal and market timing.
What is the 1776 United States 1/2 penny selling for today?
The market for the 1776 United States 1/2 penny is driven by condition above all.
1776 United States 1/2 penny specifications
- Series
- United States Coinage
- Year
- 1776
- Mint mark
- None (Philadelphia)
- Mintage
- Not recorded
- Composition
- Copper
- Weight
- 7.6141 g
- Diameter
- 27 mm
Reading a coin with no mint mark
Look for a letter and you will not find one. The 1776 United States 1/2 penny is a Philadelphia product, and the main mint did not sign its work at this time.
What makes the 1776 United States 1/2 penny valuable
Official mintage figures for the 1776 United States 1/2 penny are not well established. The museum-documented specimens behind our specifications provide the physical reference points for the issue, and the market prices it on observed scarcity.
There is history in a 1776 United States Coinage as well. Documented United States coin types preserved in museum collections, with measured specifications for each date, denomination and mint. That backdrop keeps the series among the most actively collected in American numismatics.
1776 United States 1/2 penny inscriptions & design
Obverse
PRO[VINCE OF ] MASSA: (reading outwardly from lower r.)
Nude man (Indian) stg l., holding bow in r. hand and drawn bowstring with nocked arrow in l.
Reverse
DE[FENSOR? LIB]ERTATIS (reading inwardly from lower l.)
Draped female figure (Britannia?) std. l. on globe, holding transverse scepter in l. hand.
Measured 1776 United States 1/2 penny specimens
9 physically measured 1776 United States 1/2 penny examples in our reference database. Real measured weights and die axes let you authenticate a coin against the 7.6141 g, 27 mm minting standard.
| Specimen | Weight | Diameter | Die axis | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #1 | 7.6141 g | 27 mm | - | Breen.702 |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #2 | 7.71 g | 28 mm | - | Seaby.3774, Breen.1008 |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #3 | 7.87 g | 28 mm | - | Seaby.3774, Breen.1008, Castan.Cayon.5051var |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #4 | 9.334 g | - | 12 h | Breen.703 (fake) |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #5 | 7.94 g | 25 mm | - | Breen.703 (fake) |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #6 | - | 27 mm | 3 h | AC.19, Breen.708, Whitman.8395 |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #7 | 5.915 g | - | 12 h | Breen.703 (fake) |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #8 | 3.35 g | 23 mm | - | Breen.705 (fake) |
| 1776 United States 1/2 penny #9 | 7.39 g | 26 mm | - | Breen.705 (fake) |
Specifications compiled from documented museum specimens. See our data & methodology page.