1796 LIBERTY Half Dime - 1796 LIBERTY H10C PCGS VF25. Valentine 1, LM-1. This unusual 1796 LIBERTY Half Dime variety exhibits a mixture of silver-gray toning with shades of gold, tan, and brown mixed in. Silver-gray patches are very prominent at the top and bottom of the obverse and on the lower reverse. These colors clearly indicate the coins originality. The surfaces are clean for the grade with no significant abrasion marks worthy individual mention. The drapery lines from just left of the breast cleavage to a point more than halfway around to the left show only slight wear. All of the hair is well outlined and the lower portion is well detailed. Except for the upper reverse, the dentils are strong on both sides.

The LIKERTY half-dime, identified with the berry below the D in UNITED, is a lapped die state. A die is lapped when the surface is ground or filed away to remove clash marks or flow lines. In this state the top and base of the B in LIBERTY gradually weakened leaving a letter that looks like a K. 

Designed by Robert Scot, the Draped Bust, Small Eagle Reverse half-dime shows a draped bust of Liberty in profile with her hair tied with a ribbon. The word LIBERTY is above and the date is below. In 1796 there were 15 stars on the obverse of the coin. The 1797 issue had three varieties with 15, 16, and 13 stars. For the first two years of the Draped Bust half-dime, the Small Eagle reverse was used; it shows a skinny eagle perched on a wreath that is tied with a bow and surrounded by the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The denomination does not appear on the coin, and the edge is reeded.

The portrait is modeled on a drawing by the famous artist Gilbert Stuart. Mrs. William Bingham was the model. She was a Philadelphia socialite and one of the most beautiful women of her time. Engraver Robert Scot used Stuarts portrait as the basis for his engraving. John Eckstein was probably responsible for the eagle motif of the reverse. The palm branches on the right side of the wreath are a compliment to Mint Director Henry William DeSaussure who was from South Carolina; however, by the time the coins of this design were made, he had resigned his position. Nearly all varieties of this design in all denominations have central weakness. The worst of these is probably the half-dime.

In its population report, PCGS has certified 1 1796 LIKERTY Half Dime, the present coin, at the VF 25 grade level.