Classic Head Half Cent

1809 - 1836

In 1809, the Classic, or Turban Head half cent appeared. Designed by John Reich, the coin was made of copper and minted in Philadelphia. The face of liberty was given a band around her head with her name printed on it and stars were added on both sides. The coin was minted in fairly large quantities until 1812 when the U.S. declared war on Great Britain, causing a halt which did not resume until 1825. Also, no coins were minted in 1827 and 1830 and in 1836, only proofs were made.
This coin was acquired for the D case and is stored there. It cost me 94.50 including taxes and shipping and is shown in the Red Book as worth $85 but it has also been cleaned and this will likely lower its actual value.   This is the reverse of the coin at left. It appears to qualify for F 12 grade. About 398,000 of these were minted that year.
 
I have an 1826 example above that I bought for $110 and it is now worth about $140. The coin is at least a VF 30 and looks close to a VF 35. Only 234,000 of these coins were minted that year. There are no figures for the different grades so it is not known how many of these survive in the condition above. This coin is stored in the U.S. Types album. I have a rarer half cent coin pictured below.   This is the reverse of the coin at left.
 

This coin was purchased for $94.65 ($89 was actually paid for the coin; the rest was for taxes) I think it is a VG 8 which is priced at $90 in the Red Book. The coin does have a damage mark in the top of the portrait so I may have overpaid for it but not many were made this year. This coin is stored in the half cent album.

  This is the reverse of the coin at left. There were only 63,000 of these minted in that year. PCGS says that only 519 of these coins with this date have been certified.

1825: After no presidential candidate receives a majority of United States Electoral College votes following the 1824 United States presidential election, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams President of the United States in a contingent election. March 5: With the capture of the Anne: Roberto Cofresi, one of the last successful pirates in the Caribbean, is defeated by an international naval force. August 18th: Scottish adventurer Gregor MacGregor issues a £300,000 loan with 2.5% interest, through the London bank of Thomas Jenkins & Company, for the fictitious Central American republic of Poyais. His actions lead to the Panic of 1825, the first modern stock market crash, in England. October 26: The Erie Canal opens, providing passage from Albany, NY to Buffalo and Lake Erie. And The U.S. Post office starts a dead letter office.

1826: On Feb 13th the American Temperance Society is founded. April 1: Samuel Morey patents an internal combustion engine. In June, the first real photograph is produced. July 4: Former U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die, on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. October 7: The first train operates over the Granite Railway in Massachusetts. December 25th: The Eggnog Riot breaks out at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, during the early morning hours, but is squelched by Christmas chapel service.