Today, most people are wondering about the longevity of the penny/cent and why on earth we're still minting it as it has become such an apparently useless coin. But back in the day, pennies were easily the most commonly used coin and had so much value that, in 1792, the US mint authorized the production of a Half Cent.
The US Half Cent was minted from 1793 to 1857 with several interruptions in its production during the early and mid-19th century. The coins usually had "Half Cent" on the back with some stating "200 for a dollar." Most mintages of the half cent were under 500,000 with a few years seeing between 0 and 100,000.
Due to the limited minting of the half cent, most varieties go for no less than $50 regardless of condition. Some rarer ones go for $200 - $500. The rarest varieties do go for premium prices well into the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars; including mint and near-mint conditioned coins.
