Misplaced Pages

#544455

20-501: The Capped Bust coinage of the United States consisted of a half dime , dime , quarter and half dollar . John Reich designed this capped-head concept of Liberty , and it was modified by Chief Engraver of the Mint, William Kneass . It proved to be a popular design and lasted from 1807 to 1839 on the half dollar, 1815 to 1838 on the quarter, 1809 to 1837 on the dime, and 1829 to 1837 on

40-453: A new design by Chief Engraver William Kneass , who is believed to have adapted an earlier John Reich design. All coins were minted at Philadelphia and display no mintmark. The high circulating mintage in the series was in 1835, when 2,760,000 were struck, and the low of 871,000 was in 1837. Both Capped Bust and Seated Liberty half dimes were minted in 1837. These were the last silver half dimes produced. The design features Liberty seated on

60-419: A rock and holding a shield and was first conceived in 1835 used first on the silver dollar patterns of 1836. The series is divided into several subtypes. The first was struck at Philadelphia in 1837 and New Orleans in 1838 and lacks stars on the obverse. In 1838 a semicircle of 13 stars was added around the obverse border, and this basic design was used through 1859. In 1853, small arrows were added to each side of

80-514: The 1860s, powerful interests promoting the use of nickel as a metal for use in coinage successfully lobbied for the creation of new three and five cent coins, which would be made of a copper -nickel alloy ; production of such coins began in 1865 and 1866, respectively. The introduction of the copper-nickel three and five-cent pieces made the silver coins of the same denomination redundant, and both silver denominations were discontinued in 1873. The following types of half dimes were produced by

100-465: The French word "disme", referred to the coin as "dime". By the time production of half dismes resumed in 1794, the "s" had been dropped. The Flowing Hair half dime was designed by Robert Scot and this same design was also used for half dollar and dollar silver coins minted during the same period. The obverse bears a Liberty portrait similar to that appearing on the 1794 half cent and cent but without

120-611: The Turban design was replaced with the regular Capped Bust design in 1808 and 1807, respectively, while the Eagle, having been out of production since 1804, adopted the "Coronet" Liberty Head design in 1838. The obverse of the 2008 Andrew Jackson's Liberty First Spouse coin and medal features the Capped Bust design. This coin-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Half dime Some numismatists consider

140-559: The US Mint or under the authority of the Coinage Act of 1792 : The half disme (pronounced "deem") was one of the first coins to be produced by the newly created US Mint. At least 1,500 half dismes struck in 1792, which would technically make them the first business strike coin to be minted by the Mint. However, its status as such is disputed, with the Mint recognizing the 1793 Chain cent as such. Most Americans, not sure how to pronounce

160-408: The date to reflect a reduction in weight due to rising silver prices, and the arrows remained in place through 1855. The arrows were dropped in 1856, with the earlier design resumed through 1859. In 1860, the obverse stars were replaced with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the reverse wreath was enlarged. This design stayed in place through the end of the series. The Seated Liberty half dime

180-498: The denomination to be the first business strike coin minted by the United States Mint under the Coinage Act of 1792 , with production beginning on or about July 1792. However, others consider the 1792 half disme to be nothing more than a pattern coin , or "test piece", and this matter continues to be subject to debate. These coins were much smaller than dimes in diameter and thickness, appearing to be "half dimes". In

200-664: The dies we have necessarily employed within the last five years." On August 27, 1835, Kneass suffered a debilitating stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side. Once second engraver Christian Gobrecht was hired, he did most pattern and die work until Kneass died in office on August 27, 1840. Kneass was succeeded by Gobrecht as Chief Engraver on December 21 of that year. Kneass was married to Mary Turner Honeyman Kneass. Two of their six children, Samuel Honeyman Kneass (1806–1858) and Strickland Kneass (1821–1884), became noted civil engineers in Philadelphia. Kneass

220-459: The gold coinage. He also introduced a new Liberty head on the half dollar , a design that was modified several times over the next two years. In 1835, Mint director Samuel Moore wrote of him: "Mr. Kneass, our present engraver...is an acceptable, popular and very useful Officer, perhaps one of the most rapid in execution in the U. States. I do not know whether another could be found, whose celerity in his profession could have sufficed to furnish all

SECTION 10

#1732858505545

240-471: The half dime. All four of these coin were struck in 89.2% silver and 10.8% copper. There was also a gold design created by engraver Robert Scot created in 1795, also called the Capped Bust, although it is more popularly known as the " Turban Head " because of its unusual, exotic appearance. The Turban design was used on the gold Quarter Eagle, Half Eagle, and Eagle from 1795 to 1834. On the Quarter and Half Eagles,

260-474: The liberty cap and pole. Mintage of the 1794 version was 7,765 while 78,660 of the 1795 version were produced. The obverse of the Draped Bust half dime was based on a sketch by artist Gilbert Stuart , with the dies engraved by Robert Scot and John Eckstein. The primary 1796 variety bears fifteen stars representing the then number of states in the union. In 1797, fifteen and sixteen star varieties were produced –

280-460: The same as the prior version, but the reverse was revised substantially. The eagle on the reverse now had outstretched wings, heraldic style. This reverse design first appeared on gold quarter and half eagles and then dimes and dollars in the 1790s. Mintage of the series never surpassed 40,000, with none produced in 1804. No denomination or mintmark appears on the coins; all were minted in Philadelphia. Production of half dimes resumed in 1829 based on

300-432: The sixteenth star representing newly admitted Tennessee – as well as a thirteen star variety after the mint realized that it could not continue to add more stars as additional states joined the union. The reverse bears an open wreath surrounding a small eagle perched on a cloud. 54,757 half dimes of this design were minted. Following a two-year hiatus, mintage of half dimes resumed in 1800. The obverse remained essentially

320-638: Was a genuine 1870-S half dime. At an auction later that same year, the 1870-S half dime sold for $ 425,000. It is believed that another example may exist—along with other denominations minted that year in San Francisco—in the cornerstone of the old San Francisco Mint. Later in July, 2004, the discovery coin sold for $ 661,250 in MS-63 in a Stack's-Bowers auction. William Kneass William Kneass ( / ˈ n iː s / "niece"; September 25, 1780 – August 27, 1840)

340-421: Was also known for producing aquatints . He also worked in two other engraving firms that bore his name: Kneass & Dellaker, and Young & Kneass & Co. On January 29, 1824, Kneass was appointed Chief Engraver of the United States Mint . During his tenure as Chief Engraver, he oversaw production of gold coinage, and circulating coinage. In 1830, Kneass redesigned the quarter , and in 1834, redesigned

360-629: Was born September 25, 1780, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania . He served in the War of 1812 as a volunteer associate of the field engineers , and helped construct fortifications on the western front of Philadelphia . He ran an engraving office in Philadelphia on Fourth above Chestnut Street, which was a popular meeting place for "leading wits and men of culture". Kneass also worked as an engraver of plates for bookwork. Although he mainly worked in line engraving, he

380-523: Was produced at the Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Orleans mints in an aggregate amount of 84,828,478 coins struck for circulation. See also United States Seated Liberty coinage . In 1978 a coin collector surprised the coin collecting community with an 1870– S (San Francisco) half dime, believed to have been found in a dealer's box of cheap coins at a coin show. According to mint records for 1870, no half dimes had been minted in San Francisco; yet it

400-454: Was the second Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1824 until his death in 1840. Kneass is credited with designing the "Classic Head" motif, which appeared on numerous denominations of American currency, including the gold quarter eagle ($ 2.50) and half eagle ($ 5.00) gold pieces from 1834 to 1839. He also modified John Reich's " Capped Bust " design for use on the half dime through half-dollar from 1829 to 1837. William Kneass

#544455