Large cent

The United States large cent was a coin with a face value of 1/100 of a United States dollar. 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, chain reverse 1793
• Flowing Hair, wreath reverse 1793
• Liberty Cap 1793–1796
• Draped Bust 1796–1807
• Classic Head 1808–1814
• Coronet 1816–1857

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. Some 36,000 were struck, and so-called "Chain cents" are now exceedingly rare.

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.

Draped Bust cents (1796–1807)

Robert Scot redesigned the whole of United States coinage for 1796, applying a new design featuring a bust of Liberty wearing a drapery at the neckline and a ribbon in her flowing hair. The reverse design now featured an olive wreath. As with earlier types, several minor revisions to the design were made in the first few years, with the final 1797 design lasting through the end of the type in 1807.

Classic Head cents (1808–1814)

John Reich, assistant to Chief Engraver Scot, was appointed by new Mint Director Robert Patterson to redesign Scot's Draped Bust cent (along with every other circulating coin design). The so-called "Classic Head" derives its name from the fillet worn by Liberty on the obverse, though the fillet was worn only by male athletes in ancient Greece.

Coronet cents (1816–1857)

Originally designed by then-Chief Engraver Scot after widespread criticism of the Classic Head design, the Coronet cents were extensively redesigned for 1839 by new Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht. Minor tweaks to the design continued through 1843, and the 1843 design prevailed through the end of mintage in 1857. Some 11 years after the large cent was discontinued, Mint Director Henry Linderman ordered the coinage of several large cents dated 1868. Fewer than a dozen of these unofficial issues, struck in both copper and nickel, are known to survive.

External links

• Flowing Hair, chain reverse 1793
• Flowing Hair, wreath reverse 1793
• Liberty Cap cents 1793-1796
• Draped Bust cents 1796-1807
• Classic Head cents 1808-1814
• Coronet cents 1816-1839
• Coronet cents 1839-1857