Large Cents - Cents and
Half Cents were the first coins struck for circulation under
the authority of the United States government. Coinage began
in 1793 with laws specifying that the cent should weigh
exactly twice as much as the half cent. Large cents were
coined every year from 1793 to 1857.
Flowing Hair Large Cents Chain Reverse
(1793), Flowing Hair Large Cents Wreath Reverse (1793).
Liberty Cap Large Cents (1793-1796)
Draped Bust Large Cents (1796-1807)
Classic Head Large Cents (1808-1814)
Liberty Head Large Cents (1816-1857)
In January 1791, Alexander Hamilton made
a “Report on the Coinage.” In this report he
spoke about the unequal values given in different parts
of the Union to coins of the same intrinsic worth, defective
coins, and “dissimilarity in the several moneys on
account” are problems that would be remedied by the
establishment of a national coinage. The first proposed
coin was to show the president’s portrait. However,
the House of Representatives voted against this proposal
because it would be too much like a Royal showing his portrait.
In the end they settled for “an impression emblematic
of Liberty.” The first cent, minted in 1793, had a
head of liberty and ONE CENT above a tiny 1/100 within a
circle of chain links, reminiscent of the Fugio cent. The
design was criticized because the public took the chain
to be a symbol of slavery. The second design was a similar
portrait of Liberty with a wreath reverse instead of the
chain. The third, a Liberty Cap, was minted from 1793 to
1796. It has Liberty facing right with a pole behind her
and a Phrygian cap atop the pole. The Draped Bust cent was
next. First struck in 1796, it was the second design type
for the year. The design by Robert Scot was from a drawing
by Gilbert Stuart that was first used in 1795 for a silver
dollar. In 1800 it was also used on the half cent.
Today we look at large cents as beautiful
and romantic. The people who used them would probably have
disagreed. The coins were almost half dollar sized and heavy.
Their size and weight made them impractical to use in any
volume. A pocket full was inconvenient, but one only needed
a few to buy a pound of veal in Kentucky in late 1801. The
workers at the Mint also probably didn’t like them.
They were counted by men who put the coins into wooden trays
that had cut-outs for 500 coins. When all the cut-outs were
filled, he had counted out 500 coins and would start over
again. A full tray weighed about 15 pounds, and the Mint
workers had to keep moving quickly. Sometimes later date
large cents were sent out from the Mint in barrels. Some
of these kegs remained in bank vaults, and later they provided
collectors with large numbers of uncirculated coins. Many
old coppers were melted for industrial purposes.
The Liberty Cap Large Cent was designed
by Joseph Wright and modified by John Smith Gardner. It
was minted from 1793 to 1796. It shows a head of Liberty
in profile facing right. Her hair falls in separated strands
behind her shoulder. The wavy hair from her forehead is
brushed back. A Phrygian or Liberty cap is in on a pole
over her left shoulder. The end of the pole is visible alongside
of the bust. The reverse shows an open wreath of laurel
tied with a bow. Within the wreath, on two lines, is the
denomination, ONE CENT. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
surrounds the wreath at the periphery. At the bottom, between
the ribbon ends is the fraction 1/100. There are dentils
on both sides of the coin, and the edge is plain or the
edge lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR, followed by a single
leaf.
Joseph Wright was a skilled engraver, painter,
and sculptor. He painted several portraits of Benjamin Franklin
that were lost at sea when a ship he was on ran aground
during his return voyage to America from France. When he
returned home, he created a bronze bust of George Washington.
Later he moved to Philadelphia where he began working at
the Mint in 1792. He was commissioned as a draughtsman and
die sinker; although, everyone considered him to be the
Chief Engraver. Unfortunately both he and his wife died
in September 1793 as a result of the yellow fever epidemic
that annually plagued Philadelphia.
John Smith Gardner was an Assistant Mint
Engraver from 1794 to 1796. Very little is known about his
personal life. He was never fully commissioned, and it is
not known how much engraving work was done by Gardner and
how much was Robert Scot’s. Some researchers feel
that Gardner did most of the work during this time. Gardner
resigned from the Mint in March 1796 and was rehired for
a short time in the summer.
The early mint had several problems. At
the end of the eighteenth century Philadelphia had recovered
from the British occupation and the Revolutionary War. It
was the second largest city in the English-speaking world,
but it could do nothing to protect its citizens from the
mosquito-borne epidemic of yellow fever. Its wealthy citizens
went to the countryside to escape, and the poor grimly waited
their fate. Of course these annual epidemics caused havoc
with all manufacturing that required continuity, such as
a coinage sequence. A second problem was that those who
worked at the Mint, designers, engravers, and press operators,
were not professional mint workers but came from other fields.
Coin manufacturing was a new trade for them. In addition
other problems caused chaos at the Mint. Bonds were unrealistically
high and became impediments to engravers working with precious
metals. Because of the non-existent or low production numbers
in the early years of the Mint, foreign copper, silver and
gold circulated along with American made coins for many
years until they were later demonetized. There were chronic
bullion shortages, coin dies that would wear out and had
to be re-engraved because they were not taken out of production
until they failed completely, difficulty rolling sheets
for planchets, and a Chief Engraver, Robert Scot, who was
in his seventies and had failing eyesight.
One place that had much copper and the ability
to turn it into blanks was Great Britain. Early in 1796
Mint Director Elias Boudinot was preparing to ask for help.
Britain responded and three firms participated in supplying
planchets for cents and half cents. The favored company
was Boulton, Watt & Company. Matthew Boulton had a relationship
with America that went back to the 1760’s. In 1790
Boulton proposed to Thomas Jefferson that he furnish Congress
with his best minting machines and instruct American workmen
in his style of coin making. In return he asked for a contract
for the copper coinage. His proposal to make the copper
coinage was rejected, but since his planchets were of the
best quality the Mint agreed to let him be a primary supplier
of blanks. John Harper’s proposal was also rejected.
The 1795 “Jefferson Head” cents that he made
are not actually United States coins. Harper made them as
patterns to win a contract with the Mint that he did not
get.
