Up to the present date, the designer of the first Liberty Cap Half Cent subtype with Liberty facing left has not been confirmed. The Red Book lists Joseph Wright or Henry Voigt, and Walter Breen has suggested Adam Eckfeldt. The later suggestion is based on the fact that he designed the 1792 disme, which features a head of Liberty with many of the same or similar features. Some references simply list the designer as unknown. An inspiration for this obverse design appears to have been the Libertas Americana medal, struck at the Paris Mint during the previous decade.
The obverse of the Liberty Cap Half Cent shows Liberty, with flowing hair, facing to the left. A pole with a Phrygian cap is behind her. LIBERTY is placed above the head and the date is placed below. The Phrygian cap, a symbol of freedom and liberty was first used on this design, and would become a prominent feature for many coin designs to follow. By the end of the 18th century it had become a symbol of the revolution, in both the United States as well as other countries.
Starting with 1794, a new obverse was designed by Robert Scot with Liberty facing to the right. Different details in the face and hair were also apparent. For the remaining years of the series, the obverse would show minor differences in detail, relief, and placement. Some of these are listed in the Red Book and are seen as subtypes. Most noticeable is the much smaller head of the issues from 1795 to 1797 compared to that of 1794. Others only have minor differences, and are usually only collected by specialists of early copper coins.
The reverse design derives originally from the Birch cents of 1792, and had first appeared in a somewhat modified form on the Wreath cents struck in the early summer of 1793. The appearance on the first half cents is basically the same, with a small laurel wreath, and the denomination HALF CENT inside. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the wreath, with the additional indication of the denomination “1/200″ appearing at the base. The numbers of the fraction are divided by a horizontal bar. This reverse would be used with only minor differences until a new type was introduced in 1800.
The edge lettering TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR is considered to be the regular edge of 1793 and 1794, and is sometimes seen for the later issues as well. From 1795 to 1797 and later a plain edge was standard, but both gripped as well as lettered edge coins exist for those years.