Name/Title
CoinEntry/Object ID
2016.11.71Description
United States half dime coin (five cents), minted in 1858. Round, silver. Relief on one side features Liberty (female in a toga) seated on a rock and holding a shield. Thirteen stars are circled around Liberty, along the edge of the coin. Below Liberty is the year "1858". Relief on obverse side has the text "HALF/ DIME" at the center, surrounded by a wreath. Along the border of the coin is the text "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". There is a small circular hole drilled close to the edge of this coin.
These coins were much smaller than dimes in diameter and thickness, appearing to be "half dimes". In the 1860s, powerful nickel interests successfully lobbied for the creation of new coins, which would be made of a copper-nickel alloy; production of such coins began in 1865, and were struck in two denominations — three and five cents (the latter introduced in 1866). The introduction of the copper-nickel five-cent pieces made the silver coins of the same denomination redundant, and they were discontinued in 1873. The "Seated Liberty" design on this coin was used from 1837-1873. In 1838 the semicircle of 13 stars was added around the "Seated Liberty" design.Acquisition
Accession
2016.11Source or Donor
Feack, PamelaAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Pamela Feack in memory of Floyd O. "Pa" and Samantha Minerva "Minnie, Ma" Saunders Burdick, Cecil May Burdick Goodwin, Grace Belle Burdick Yates, and Fern Ann Goodwin FeackMade/Created
Date made
1858Place
Country
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
CoinNomenclature Primary Object Term
MoneyNomenclature Class
Exchange MediaNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects
