1853 Braided Hair Half Cent 1/2c Grades Choice AU. Per Ron Guth of PCGS : The Braided Hair half cents boast some of the lowest mintages of any U.S. coin types and are among the best values, as well. Every date in this type boasts a low mintage. By way of comparison, the mintage of the any Braided hair Half Cent is almost a fraction of the mintage of the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent (a far more valuable coin), making this an excellent value.