1794 United States 1/2 cent Value

Depending on how well it survived, a 1794 United States 1/2 cent brings anywhere from its melt value to well into four figures. Where your coin lands depends on wear, strike and surface quality.

Public domain image (struck or printed before 1926). Click to enlarge.

1794 United States 1/2 cent value by grade

1794 United States 1/2 cent value by grade
GradeEstimated 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 a 1794 United States 1/2 cent worth right now?

The market for the 1794 United States 1/2 cent is driven by condition above all.

1794 United States 1/2 cent specifications

Series
United States Coinage
Year
1794
Mint mark
None (Philadelphia)
Mintage
Not recorded
Composition
Copper

The missing mint mark, explained

The 1794 United States 1/2 cent comes from Philadelphia, which struck coins without a mint mark. If the spot where branch-mint coins show a letter is empty on your 1794, that is exactly as it should be.

What makes the 1794 United States 1/2 cent valuable

Documented examples of the 1794 United States 1/2 cent in our reference database anchor what we know about this issue. Mintage records are incomplete, so collector demand and surviving population drive its market.

Context adds the final layer to the 1794 United States 1/2 cent. Documented United States coin types preserved in museum collections, with measured specifications for each date, denomination and mint. Owning this date means owning a piece of that story, and demand for the series as a whole sustains liquidity for every issue in it.

1794 United States 1/2 cent inscriptions & design

Obverse

LIBERTY / (date)

Liberty head right with cap on pole

Reverse

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / HALF / CENT / 1/200

Value in wreath

Measured 1794 United States 1/2 cent specimens

8 physically measured 1794 United States 1/2 cent examples in our reference database. Real measured weights and die axes let you authenticate a coin against the g, mm minting standard.

Measured 1794 United States 1/2 cent specimens
SpecimenWeightDiameterDie axisReferences
1794 United States 1/2 cent #1---Gilbert.1794.1, BreenHC.9, Cohen.9, Breen.1511
1794 United States 1/2 cent #2---Gilbert.1794.1, BreenHC.9, Cohen.9, Breen.1511
1794 United States 1/2 cent #3---Gilbert.1794.7, BreenHC.5b, Cohen.3, Breen.1509
1794 United States 1/2 cent #4---Gilbert.1794.4, BreenHC.6b, Cohen.4, Breen.1509
1794 United States 1/2 cent #5---Gilbert.1794.5, BreenHC.2b, Cohen.2a, Breen.1507
1794 United States 1/2 cent #6---Gilbert.1794.9, Breen.1504
1794 United States 1/2 cent #7---Gilbert.1794.8, Breen.1507
1794 United States 1/2 cent #8---Gilbert.1794.7 (fake), Breen.1511electrotype

Specifications compiled from documented museum specimens. See our data & methodology page.