Large Cents
The United States large cent was a coin with a face value of 1/100 of a United States dollar. Its diameter varied between 27mm and 29mm. more...
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The first official mintage of the large cent was in 1793, and its production continued until 1857, when it was officially replaced by the modern-size one-cent coin (commonly called the \"penny\").
List of designs
Flowing Hair 1793
Flowing Hair, chain reverse 1793;
Flowing Hair, wreath reverse 1793;
Liberty Cap 1793–1796;
;
Draped Bust 1796–1807;
Classic Head 1808–1814;
Matron Head 1816–1839;
Braided Hair 1839–1857;
General history
The best publication explaining the development of US Large Cents is Penny Whimsy written by Dr. William H. Sheldon in collaboration with Dorothy I. Paschal and Walter Breen. The organization devoted to the study and collecting of US Large Cents is Early American Coppers (EAC).
Flowing Hair cents, chain reverse (1793)
Henry Voight's design was almost universally criticized in its time for its unattractiveness and perceived allusion to slavery. It bears the distinction, however, of being the first official coinage minted by the federal government on its own equipment and premises. 36,103 were minted. Its low survival rate on top of a small mintage, coupled with being the first regular federal issue and a one-year design and type, has created an extremely strong demand from generations of numismatists. As a result, all surviving specimens command high prices ranging from $2,000-$3,000 in the absolute lowest state of preservation to over $500,000 in the highest.
Flowing Hair cents, wreath reverse (1793)
The Mint caved to the intense ridicule later in 1793, and Mint Director David Rittenhouse ordered Adam Eckfeldt to revise the obverse and reverse designs. Liberty's bust was redesigned with even longer, wilder hair, and the chain was removed from the reverse in favor of a wreath. Scholars are undecided as to what plant or plants are depicted in the wreath, with several varieties extant. Total mintage of the wreath reverse numbered about 63,000 pieces.
Liberty Cap cents (1793–1796)
Rittenhouse was dissatisfied with Eckfeldt's designs, and with the criticism of the Chain cents fresh in his mind, he hired Joseph Wright to do yet another redesign in the denomination's troubled first year. Wright's design faced Liberty to the right and \"tamed\" her wild hair. The cap was added as an ancient symbol of freedom. The reverse design was revised to a recognizable laurel wreath, and future Chief Engraver Robert Scot had a hand in several minor revisions to the design over the next three years.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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