1842-P Braided Hair

  • Category
    Braided Hair
  • Design
    Early Copper Half Penny (1840-1857)
  • Year
    1842
  • Mint
    Philadelphia
  • Designer
    Christian Gobrecht
  • Composition
    100% Copper
  • Diameter
    23mm
  • Weight
    5.44g
Known variants:
Original

One major variety of the 1842 Braided Hair Half Cent (Penny) is the Original strike version. This can be identified by noting that the berries on the reverse of the coin are large and round. The first and second restrike varieties have small berries.

First Restrike

One major variety of the 1842 Braided Hair Half Cent (Penny) is the First Restrike version which was produced later on around 1859 for collectors. This can be identified by noting that the berries on the reverse of the coin are much smaller than the original version. In addition: The letter "T" in the word "CENT" is doubled towards the right as depicted in the example image above - which helps distinguish the first restrike from the second restrike.

Second Restrike

One major variety of the 1842 Braided Hair Half Cent (Penny) is the Second Restrike version which was produced later on around 1859 for collectors. This can be identified by noting that the berries on the reverse of the coin are much smaller than the original version. In addition: There are small die file marks above the letters "RICA" in the word "AMERICA" on the reverse of the coin. The letter "T" in the word "CENT" is not doubled so this helps distinguish the second restrike from the first restrike.