1828 13 Stars

The 1828 13 Stars half cent is the standard issue for the date: thirteen stars surrounding Liberty's Classic Head portrait, one for each of the original colonies, exactly as John Reich's design specified. With a total mintage of 606,000 coins for 1828, this is one of the highest-production years in the entire half cent series, and the 13 Stars variety represents the majority of that output.

The abundance of 1828 half cents makes this one of the most affordable Classic Head dates. Circulated examples in Good through Fine are plentiful by early copper standards, and even higher grades are achievable without the kind of searching that rarer dates demand. A collector building a Classic Head date set will find the 1828 13 Stars among the easiest acquisitions on the list.

The year's high mintage also means more coins survived in better condition than typical for the series. Some of those 606,000 coins ended up in drawers or boxes rather than in daily circulation, and the proportion that survived in Very Fine or better is higher than for lower-mintage dates where nearly every coin was needed for commerce. A collector with a preference for sharp coins has better odds of finding a high-grade 1828 than a high-grade 1811 or 1825.

For type collectors (those who want a single example of the Classic Head design rather than a complete date set), the 1828 13 Stars is an excellent choice. The high mintage keeps prices reasonable, the design is fully representative of the series, and the coin is common enough to allow careful selection for surface quality and eye appeal rather than forcing a compromise on the first available example.