1849 Half Cent - 1849 C Large Date, C-1, NGC AU58 BN, CAC. This near-Uncirculated 1849 Half Cent has hard surfaces and original mint luster within its devices. The coin is light brown with slightly darker coloring at the rims. These colors attest to the coins originality. The surfaces are clean for the grade with but a few tiny abrasion marks and no other distractions. The strike is strong with full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the leaves of the wreath, and the dentils on both sides. The CAC sticker indicates that this is a premium quality piece that fully merits the assigned grade.

Christian Gobrecht designed the half-cent. He used the coronet motif for his design. It shows a profile of Liberty facing left. Her hair is tied in the back with beads as two curls flow down her neck. On the coronet the word LIBERTY is inscribed. She is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars and the date, which is below the truncation. At the periphery are dentils on both sides of the coin. The reverse shows the denomination, HALF CENT, written on two lines, enclosed in a wreath of laurel, which is tied at the bottom with a ribbon. The wreath is surrounded by the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and the edge is plain.

The Braided Hair Half Cent began in 1840, a year after a similar design was used for the Large Cent. Since there was very little demand for this denomination, only proof were struck from 1840 to 1848. In 1849 both circulation strikes and proofs were made. The denomination was discontinued with the Coinage Act of 1857. By 1860 most had been withdrawn from circulation, and the denomination disappeared from commerce.

Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis.

In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

In its population report, as of June 2013, CAC has confirmed 6 1849 Half Cents at the AU55 grade level.