No half cents were struck from 1837 through 1839. In the former year an economic depression later known as the Panic of 1837 swept America, and on May 10th the government stopped paying out coins, and small change was hoarded by the public. Eventually many private businesses, banks, and other enterprises went out of business. Filling the need for circulating coins, numerous merchants and die sinkers distributed countless thousands of tokens. One of these privately minted issues bears on the obverse an eagle, with the date 1837 below. The reverse bears the inscription HALF CENT WORTH OF PURE COPPER. In the 1930s Wayte Raymond, a New York coin dealer and distributor of albums, decided that this half-cent size token would be ideal for inclusion in a half cent album, as it would give collectors the opportunity to add a date which was not represented in the regular half cent series. Thus, the 1837 token was adopted into the series. Today it is one of the few non-federal issues listed in the Guide Book of United States Coins among the regular series.

Braided Hair half cents: In 1840 a new motif, the Braided Hair or Coronet type, was introduced. Half cents were not struck for general circulation during most of this decade, and production from 1840 through the first part of 1849 was limited to Proofs made for collectors and for presentation purposes. Today, Proofs of the 1840s are highly prized rarities and sell from several thousand dollars each upward. Around 1858-1860 certain employees of the Mint realized that half cents of the 1840s, and certain earlier dates such as 1831 and 1836, were rarities and could be sold at a premium to collectors, therefore examples were restruck. A later generation of numismatists was able to differentiate originals from restrikes, noting, for example, that among half cents of the 1840s, originals have larger berries in the reverse wreath than do restrikes.

Beginning in 1849, half cents were again struck for general circulation. Production continued through 1857, with the exception of 1852, when only Proofs were made. Half cents of the Braided Hair type, dated from 1849 through 1857, are usually seen in grades from VF-20 upward. The denomination did not circulate for many years after its discontinuance in 1857, thus coins of the Braided Hair style did not have the opportunity to become worn smooth. From the standpoint of the collector and investor, grades from EF-40 through Mint State are quite desirable. As is true with contemporary large cents (1793-1857) as well, condition for half cents often is not as important as surface quality and aesthetic appeal. Most advanced numismatists would prefer a lustrous, glossy AU-50 half cent with sharp design detail, to an MS-63 coin with spotted or blotchy surfaces.