Diameter: 23.00 mm
Mintage/Proof: 40430 / 130
Weight: 5.44 grams
Metal: Copper
Value by Condition
| Grade | Value |
|---|---|
| Worst | $20 |
| Heavy Circ | $45 |
| Average | $75 |
| Light Circ | $100 |
| Uncirc | $200 |
World Auction Record, Sold By Stack’s Bowers — Sold For: $4,700.00 (record)
History, Information, and Value of 1856 Braided Hair Half Cent
Value of 1856 C-1 Braided Hair Half Cent
W-1a, b, and c | C-1 (Proof, SO-2 from W-1a, SR-13 for W-1c), B-1 to 3 | Breen dies: 1-A, B, and C. | W-1a: Rust pit on I in UNITED. W-1b: No rust pit on I in UNITED. Only used to strike patterns, Judd-177. Fewer than 25 known. W-1c: Doubled NT in CENT, this being the same die used to make First Restrike half cents of the 1840s. Perhaps 70 to 90 Proofs can be found of all 1856 Braided Hair Half Cent, making for one of the most available Proofs of the decade. Circulation strikes number somewhere in the 1,400 to 1,800 piece range today and can be found in Mint State without too much difficulty. Examples with mint orange are elusive however.
The obverse text of the Braided Hair Half Cent reads “Liberty, 1856.” The reverse of the coins read “United States of America, Half Cent.”