U.S. Large Cents

The large cents of early America were very interesting, and have a wide variety. The trial model was the 1792 Birch Cent, which there is only a total of 12 known. It featured the bust of Lady Liberty, and the inscription “Parent of Science & Industry * Liberty.” The first official large cents were minted in 1793 at the Philadelphia mint, and there are several varieties of them. The first is the chain reverse, of which 36,103 were minted. On the obverse is the bust of Lady Liberty, the word Liberty, and the date 1793. On the reverse, the words “One Cent” and the denomination 1/100 are inside a chain in the center, and the inscription “United States of America” or “United States of Ameri.” The other variety is the wreath reverse, of which 63,353 were minted. It is almost the same as the chain reverse, but it has a wreath where the chain was and the fraction 1/100 below the wreath, along with a leaf under the bust of Liberty on the obverse. There is an extremely rare “Strawberry Leaf” variety, which has some smaller leaves instead of one large one under the bust of Liberty, and there are only four known. The next variety was from 1793-1796, and slightly modified Liberty’s portrait, along with adding a cap behind the head. There was also a lettered edge from 1793-1795, with the wording “ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR.” In 1797, another major change was made to the design, creating the popular “Draped Bust” design. There with three different types of wreath reverses on this design, which ran from 1796-1807. The edge on most was smooth,� except for one variety in 1797 with a gripped edge. The draped bust large cents are very sought after in high conditions, and all are highly esteemed by collectors. The next change was made in 1808, to make the classic head type. The copper used on these was softer that of other types, and so they tend to have much more wear and are very rare to find in choice condition. They were coined from 1808-1814, and the design changed drastically from the Draped Bust. The Classic Head design had a new bust facing left, and thirteen stars going along it’s sides, with the date at the bottom. The word “Liberty” was removed from the top. On the reverse, there was a new wreath, and the denomination (1/100) was removed from under the wreath. This design is one of the hardest to obtain for a large cent type set. The next design was the “Matron Head” design, from 1816-1835. It is very similar to the Classic head, but has the thirteen stars going all the way around on the obverse, and larger letters, as well as a line under One Cent, on the reverse. From 1835-1839 was a type of large cent called the “Young Head,” which was a modified bust from the Matron Head. The last type of large cent is the common Braided Hair from 1839-1857, with a new bust, the line under One Cent removed, and from 1843-1857, larger letters. As you can see, The Large Cents of Early America were a very important part of our nation’s coinage, and are also fun to collect!