Large Cents (1793-1857): The Foundation of Early American Coinage

Today’s large cents are called pennies, but when the coins were minted, the name of the money was as strange as the coin itself. Being one of the first emitted coins issued by the United States Mint, the Large Cent was decided by Congress to be 1/100 of the dollar. Large single-cent coins were unlike the current copper-plated coins and were more in the dimensions of today’s half dollar.

Although these coins were initially minted in the early 1790s, their manufacture went on until the mid-19th century. Of course, this means that every year from 1793 to 1857 (except for the year 1815), the Large Cent was one of the most mass-produced coins in the US Mint.

The lack of a Large Cent edition in 1815 had its roots in the War of 1812 as a wartime ban on the export of blank copper planchets to the United States. While the Mint procured the planchets with which it was working from the supply, the store was completely exhausted before it could proceed to the preparation of the 1815 edition. Luckily, the war with Great Britain ceased in the year 1816. After that, the US Mint ordered large quantities of copper blanks, which were then used to strike Large Cents. What is rather curious about the Large Cent is the fact that these coins were only struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

Large Cent Design History

When it came to the design, Large Cent remained as simple as it could get. With that said, however, the design of this single-cent coin went through many changes over the time that it was in production. The first version of the design(s) that can be observed on large cents struck in 1793 was very elemental in its appearance. On the front side of the coin, there was a depiction of a right-facing Lady Liberty with her hair visibly blown by the wind. The reverse side of the coin was as much an issue of debate as there was the ring of chains, and many believed Henry Voigt, who designed the coin, was a supporter of slaves.

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Even though the first design did not receive a very warm reception, the design is of special interest to numismatists because this is the first issue made at the US Mint with the use of equipment and methods at the disposal of that bureau. Not many more than 30,000 were ever struck.

And before the mint switched to a new 1794 edition, it succumbed to public expectations and changed the coin’s reverse and obverse sides. The new reverse of the coin represents the ornate wreath, which is the ring of chains. While it remained scarce, the Wreath Reverse Large Cent had a mintage figure in excess of 60,000.

Earlier in 1790, Adam Eckfeldt redesigned the 1793 Large Cent but when Mint Director David Rittenhouse commissioned a new design for the 1794 Large Cent he recruited Joseph Wright to do the job. On the obverse side of Wright’s design, Lady Liberty was illustrated as well, though her hair was more neat and she also wore a Phrygian cap, an ancient emblem of liberty. On the back of the coin, the design of a wreath was retained; however, the wreath that was incorporated into the design of the 1794 coin was designed to resemble a laurel wreath. This design was better accepted by the public and was used for circulation for three years before it was replaced by the draped bust design.

In the year 1796, a certain Robert Scot established a whole new appearance on the coins of the United States of America and this affected the Large Cent. The new obverse showed a right-facing, somewhat more stately Lady Liberty, who has a ribbon in her hair and drapery near her breast. Contrary to the idea of the symbolism of the wreath of laurel leaves that was designed a few years before the facsimile of 1796, the latter used the image of the olive wreath. This design seemed to be even more accepted than those previous to it, as it was maintained up until 1808.

John Reich, who became an assistant engraver to Robert Scot in 1808, was the man who was to replace Scot’s draped bust design. This new style of Large Cent was soon referred to as the Bicentennial design because the newly added left-faced ‘head’ was Liberty wearing ornate head gear somewhat resembling a crown. The fillet headgear that was worn was said to have resembled very closely the headgear awarded to legendary male athletes in ancient Greece. The metal, copper, that was used in making these coins was perhaps of better quality and hence they were not as hard as earlier coins and easily scratched.

Once more, there was a change with reference to the design of this coin in 1816, exercised by the Chief Engraver Scot. This time, she was designed to look older; hence, this design has been referred to as the Matron Head design. There is another name for this particular large cent design in some numismatic circles; it is called Coronet Cent. These coins were produced until the calendar year 1839, when the design of the currency was again altered.

By 1835, the new Chief Engraver of the US Mint was Christian Gobrecht and it was the latter’s job to redesign the Large Cent for the final time. A reverse-aged Lady Liberty that looked younger was created to accompany the change in haircut. Lady Liberty’s hair was braided. This was the last modification made to the Large Cent and the design was produced up until the 1850s.

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And as you can see quite clearly, there are quite a few different possibilities for acquiring the Large Cent. Since the production of this coin lasted almost one hundred years, we would expect that many of them are still in existence today, but this is not so. Most particularly when they are for the early years of mintage, these coins are relatively scarce to come across and even more scarce if they are in mint condition.

And as you can see quite clearly, there are quite a few different possibilities for acquiring the Large Cent. Since the production of this coin lasted almost one hundred years, we would expect that many of them are still in existence today, but this is not so. Most particularly when they are for the early years of mintage, these coins are relatively scarce to come across and even more scarce if they are in mint condition.

Large Cent Values

The Large Cent is the most popular of all types of U.S. coins on collection for coin hobbyists. Since these were some of the first ever genuine US circulating coins, every one of them is a piece of history.

To collectors, a large cent in terrible condition is still a trophy. Most of these coins are 200 years of age or older, so it is not really unreasonable to expect them to be in rough shape. Because of this, the understanding of why collectors are willing to pay a large amount of money for a large cent that is in above-average condition is quite clear.

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