Cent Values

From 1798 and 1799, 1.8 million Large Cents were minted. But no Half Cents were minted during those two years. In 1800, a newly-designed Half Cent entered circulation.

As the Civil war raged in 1864, the US Mint dealt with shortages of Precious Metals, including the metals used for the Cent, Copper-Nickel. When the Mint ran out of One-Cent coins, President Lincoln signed the Coinage Act of 1864, which made base metal coins legal tender and authorized a Two-Cent piece.

There were a total of four different Liberty Cap cent varieties for 1793. In 1794 there were 56 varieties in addition to several that are so rare they are considered “Non-Collectible.” There were 8 varieties of the 1795-dated coins. Coins of May to June 1796 were struck from dies cut by Robert Scot.

The Three Cent Silver is a bit of an unusual coin. Not only is the denomination different, but unlike most coins we have reviewed up to now, but the Three Cent Silver also does not offer a depiction of Mis Liberty or have its denomination within a wreath on the reverse.

Late in 1835, it was decided that the long-running Matron Head Large Cent needed some minor design changes. Designer of the Matron Head Large Cent, Robert Scot died in 1823. The Mint let his design run unchanged until then.

The American public had made their disdain for the first U.S. coins abundantly clear since they were introduced in 1793. The Mint Director asked Robert Reich to try his hand at designing once more, and Reich designed the Matron Head Large Cent coin.

1909 was the Centennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln and an important year in Numismatics. Read more.

In April of 1792, the newly-formed United States Congress passed the 1792 Coinage Act. This bill provided for the establishment of a United States Mint facility to be built in the then-capital of the United States – Philadelphia.

The design of the 1859 Indian Head Cent was simple, and elegant yet had an air of European sophistication. Longacre said he was inspired by the face of the “Crouching Venus” statue which was being exhibited in Philadelphia at the time.

In 1854, the Large Cent had been minted for more than 50 years, and the U.S. Mint was seeking a new design and a new coin. Chief Mint Engraver James B. Longacre went about designing a radically different coin. Longacre would become a prolific coin designer and engraver.

On May 8, 1792, an act to provide for American Copper coinage was signed by George Washington. Chief Engraver Henry Voigt went to work on the Flowing Hair Large cent, featuring an allegorical depiction of Miss Liberty, facing right, with hair flowing straight back.

Robert Scot created what has been called the “Draped Bust” design. Modeled after a sketch by Gilbert Stuart, Miss Liberty faces right. A ribbon holds her hair back and a draped gown is at her shoulders.

Discover more about the history, mintages and value of the Draped Bust Half Cent, dating from 1800 to 1808, with APMEX today!

Just over 1 million 1808-dated Large Cents were produced bearing Reich’s new design. But the Mint soon ran out of blank planchets and 222,867 cents were struck in 1809. An adequate supply of copper planchets in 1810 allowed the Mint to again strike over 1 million coins (1,458,500) and there were two varieties of 1810 dated coins – a normal date and an overdate of 1810/09.

After he was appointed Mint Assistant Engraver, John Reich redesigned the Half Dollar, Gold Half Eagle, Cent, Gold Quarter Eagle, Dime and finally, the Half-Cent. Reich created a new face for Miss Liberty. She seemed older and less showy, her curls held back on her head by a band prominently inscribed with the word “LIBERTY.”

The final phase of the Large Cent took place in 1839 with the Braided Hair Large Cent. Christian Gobrecht, Chief Engraver at the U.S. Mint, was determined to craft a coin that the public would admire. He captured a European-influenced style with braided hair, soft features, and a coronet that he was sure the public would love.

Gobrecht redesigned the 1839 Large Cent and used that style for the 1840 Braided Hair Half Cent. He radically changed John Reich’s matronly Miss Liberty and gave her a younger, slimmer, more youthful style.

Learn more about the Draped Bust Half Cent, dating from 1800 to 1808, and the different mintages and values associated with the coin with APMEX today!

The Two-Cent Piece had a couple of false starts before it was first struck in 1864. These coins were only minted for a short time, largely due to a shortage in U.S. coinage from Civil War hoarding.

The Three-cent Silver piece came about due to the decrease in postage rates from five cents to three. This made it efficient to mint a smaller denomination coin that could handle the transaction easily.

This coin was produced in many varieties over the years but the design always stuck to the same basic motif of Liberty’s face.