It is hard to believe that up till 1857 that america used a half of cent most of them were turned back in to be melted dew to the high amount of copper that they had and it was the same year that the large cent moved to the new copper.880 nickel.120 small cent. 
As you can see the first four are the Draped Bust design and were minted from 1800 to 1808 and alloy of raw copper makes many of them porous and dark the still new mint of that time did not refine copper or added any other metals but by 1809 with a new design of the Classic Head 1809-1836 copper refining came in to play by then as you can see below 
Some might ask what would a half cent buy you? A loaf of bread was one and one half cent in 1805. A pound of potatoes was one half cent of the same year in major cities of that time. In 1857 half and large cents became increasingly expensive to produce and during the 1850s the Philadelphia Mint experimented with smaller versions of a new cent and discontinued the half cent. The Flying Eagle cent was the first small cent of the nation but was made just three years from the pattern of 1856 then public use of 1857-1858 
So if you find one there are many that are rare even in low grades some can be a few thousand dollars dew to low mintage or error hope you enjoyed the history.
If anyone is interested in any coins you see in the photos let me know i would sell for crypto lets talk
Thanks
Rayo
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