Most half dimes are worth about $15 to $40 in worn, common-date condition. The half dime was a small silver five-cent coin struck from 1794 to 1873.
That range covers the common Seated Liberty dates most people find. The top of the series is in another world entirely: the unique 1870-S half dime sold for $3.12 million in 2023, and even a worn 1802 starts near $45,000. This guide covers all four designs, the key dates, and the silver math underneath every coin. Value ranges below are approximate and were checked on November 2, 2026; individual coins vary with grade, surfaces, and certification.
Half Dime Quick Facts
The half dime was one of the original denominations authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792 — the famous 1792 half disme is widely considered the first coin struck under the new law. The denomination was always silver and always tiny, and when the copper-nickel five-cent piece arrived in 1866 the two coins circulated side by side until the Coinage Act of 1873 discontinued the half dime for good. Its longest-running design, the Seated Liberty, is the little sibling of the Seated Liberty dime.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Years struck | 1792 (pattern half disme); 1794–1873 for circulation, with no coins struck 1806–1828 |
| Designs | Flowing Hair, Draped Bust, Capped Bust, Seated Liberty |
| Composition | 89.24% silver (1794–1836); 90% silver, 10% copper (1837–1873) |
| Weight | 1.35 g early issues; 1.34 g (1837–1853); 1.24 g (1853–1873) |
| Diameter | About 17.5 mm early issues; 15.5 mm for Seated Liberty issues |
| Silver content | 0.0388 troy oz (1837–1853); 0.0359 troy oz (1853–1873) |
| Mints | Philadelphia, New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S) |
| Replaced by | The five-cent nickel, introduced in 1866 |
Half Dime Melt Value: The Silver Floor
Every half dime is mostly silver, so every coin has a melt floor under its collector price. At a silver spot price of $51.04 per troy ounce, a Seated Liberty half dime struck after the 1853 weight reduction melts for about $1.83, and an earlier 1837–1853 coin melts for about $1.98. Common-date coins trade at $15 or more — many times melt — because collectors, not the silver, set the price on a coin this small and this old.
| Half Dime Issue | Silver Content | Melt Value at $51.04 Spot |
|---|---|---|
| Seated Liberty, 1853–1873 (1.24 g, 90% silver) | 0.0359 troy oz | About $1.83 |
| Seated Liberty, 1837–1853 (1.34 g, 90% silver) | 0.0388 troy oz | About $1.98 |
Spot price and melt figures: Data by Bullion Price Check, as of November 2, 2026, 13:52 UTC. Melt is metal value only; collector prices sit well above it.
Half Dime Key Dates and Types
Value in this series climbs steeply with age. The Seated Liberty issues are the affordable end, the Capped Bust coins are the middle, and anything from the 1790s or the tiny Draped Bust mintages is a serious rarity.
| Date / Type | Mintage | Approximate Value Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| 1794–1795 Flowing Hair | About 86,416 across both years | The first regular half dimes. Roughly $1,750 or more in Good condition and $8,000 or more in Very Fine. |
| 1802 Draped Bust | 3,060 | The great Draped Bust rarity. Roughly $45,000 or more in Good condition; no Mint State example exists. |
| 1829–1837 Capped Bust (common dates) | Varies by year | The most collectible early type. Common dates run roughly $40 in Good and $150 in Very Fine. |
| 1837–1873 Seated Liberty (common dates) | Varies by year | The affordable end of the series. Common dates run roughly $15 in Good, $50 in Very Fine, and $250 or more in About Uncirculated. |
| 1838-O Seated Liberty | The first New Orleans half dime | A recognized Seated key, running roughly $300 and up in low grades. |
| 1846 Seated Liberty | Low-mintage Philadelphia issue | The scarcest common-era Philadelphia date, running roughly $1,000 and up. |
| 1870-S Seated Liberty | Unrecorded — exactly one coin known | Unique. The single known example, discovered in 1978 even though San Francisco records show no half dimes struck that year, sold for $3.12 million in 2023. |
Two cautions apply across the series. First, early half dimes are small, thin, and frequently damaged — bent, holed, or tooled coins lose most of their value, and any five-figure coin should be certified by PCGS or NGC. Second, the 23-year gap with no half dimes at all (1806–1828) is normal: the Mint simply did not strike the denomination, so a “missing” date in that range is not a rarity to hunt for.
How Condition Drives Half Dime Value
Grading a coin this small turns on tiny details. On Seated Liberty coins the word LIBERTY on the shield is the classic wear point — a full, sharp LIBERTY is the line between Good and Fine — and on Capped Bust coins the hair curls and the drapery clasp go first. The grade jumps are steepest on the early types, where one grade step can mean thousands of dollars. Never clean a half dime: on thin early silver, cleaning shows instantly and turns a collectible coin into a damaged one worth a fraction of its uncleaned value. The same grading logic — read the wear points, respect original surfaces — carries straight through to the later 90% silver dimes collectors know better, the Mercury dime and the Barber dime.
Shop 90% Silver
Half dimes themselves trade on the collector market, but their direct descendants — pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coinage, sold by face value — are a staple of our in-stock inventory:
Checked November 2, 2026: both products above were in stock at the time of writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a half dime worth?
Most half dimes are worth about $15 to $40 in worn, common-date condition. Common Seated Liberty dates start near $15 in Good condition, Capped Bust dates near $40, and rarities like the 1802 start near $45,000.
What is the rarest half dime?
The 1870-S half dime is the rarest coin in the series, with exactly one example known. It sold for $3.12 million in 2023.
Are half dimes silver?
Yes. Half dimes were struck in silver for their entire run — 89.24% silver from 1794 to 1836 and 90% silver from 1837 to 1873.
How much silver is in a half dime?
A Seated Liberty half dime contains 0.0359 troy ounces of silver if struck from 1853 to 1873, or 0.0388 troy ounces if struck from 1837 to 1853. At $51.04 spot on November 2, 2026, that is about $1.83 to $1.98 in melt value.
Is a half dime the same as a nickel?
No. A half dime is a silver five-cent coin struck from 1794 to 1873, while the nickel is the larger copper-nickel five-cent coin introduced in 1866 — the two circulated together until the half dime was discontinued in 1873.
Educational content only — not financial advice.