The Coronet large cent was a type of large cent issued by the United States Mint at the Philadelphia Mint from 1816 until 1857.
There are two similar designs of the Coronet large cent, the Matron Head and the Braided Hair, the latter with a slightly altered profile. This was the last large cent produced by the mint, being replaced by the reduced diameter Flying Eagle cent in 1857.
History During the War of 1812, a trade embargo was imposed between the United States and England, which had supplied the US Mint with copper planchets. The mint's supply was exhausted in 1814, and no Classic Head cents were produced dated 1815. It has often been written that no cents at all were struck that year, but coinage did resume in December 1815 using an 1814 or 1816-dated die.
Once the embargo was lifted and the mint received new planchets, large cent production resumed, this time with a new design of the goddess Liberty by Robert Scot. The design change was made because the Classic Head cents received much criticism.
In 1823, only proof cents were produced during the calendar year, all others were made in 1824 using back-dated dies.
The new cents, known as Matron Head cents, were not much better, however, and numismatist Walter Breen called the design "a spectacularly ugly head of Ms. Liberty". In 1836, Christian Gobrecht made several modifications to the design, giving the bust of Liberty a younger appearance.
Gobrecht made further changes in 1839, creating the "Petite Head" Braided Hair cent. In 1843, the bust was enlarged and tilted upward, this design is known as the "Mature Head".
Varieties Matron Head varieties Matron Head varieties (1816–1839)YearVarietyMintageNotes1816–2,820,982181713 stars3,948,40015 stars errorLikely to have been caused by Robert Scot's poor eyesight due to age1818–3,167,0001819Standard date2,671,0009 over 8 error1820Small date4,407,550Large date20 over 19 errorBoth small date and large date known1821–389,0001822–2,072,3391823Standard date3 over 2 errorRestrike An estimated 240 examples existBelieved to have been created around the same time as the 1804 restrike large centSilver restrike>21824Standard date1,262,0004 over 2 error1825–1,461,1001826Standard date1,517,4256 over 5 error1827–2,357,7321828Large date2,260,624Small date1829Large lettering1,414,500Small lettering1830Large lettering1,711,500Small lettering1831Large lettering3,359,260Small lettering1832Large lettering2,362,000Small lettering1833–2,739,0001834Small 8, large stars1,855,100Large 8, small starsLarge 8, large stars, small letteringLarge 8, large stars, large lettering1835Small 8, small stars3,878,400Large 8, large starsType of 18361836–2,111,0001837Type of 1837, large lettering5,558,300Type of 1837, small letteringType of 18381838–6,370,2001839Head of 18383,128,661Head of 1838, 9 over 6 error"Silly Head""Booby Head"
Braided Hair varieties Braided Hair varieties (1839–1857; 1868)YearVarietyMintageNotes1839–3,128,6611840Small date2,462,700Large dateSmall over large date error1841–1,597,3671842Large date2,383,390Small date1843Small head, small lettering2,425,342Small head, large letteringLarge head1844Standard date2,398,75244 over 81 errorIn reality, the date was punched into the die upside-down, but was corrected by punching the date correctly1845–3,894,8041846Small date4,120,800Medium dateTall date1847Standard date6,183,669Large over small 471848Standard date6,415,799Small date (counterfeit)>10-12Although this coin is a counterfeit, many numismatists include this coin in coin catalogs1849–4,178,5001850–4,426,8441851Standard date9,889,70751 over 81This error is similar to the 44 over 81 error, and inverted date was corrected by punching the date correctly into the die1852–5,063,0941853–6,641,1311854–4,236,1561855Upright 551,574,829Slanted 55Slanted 55, knob on earError caused by a die break1856Upright 52,690,463Slanted 51857Large date333,456Small date1868Nickel>7Pattern coins struck for collectorsCopper≈12
Replacement
The price of copper rose dramatically in the late-1840s, and the cost of producing large cents rose as a result. The US Mint started seeking an alternative that used less copper. The first attempt was to perforate the coin, resulting in the ring cents of 1850 and 1851. The standard composition of these coins was billon, an alloy of 90% copper and 10% silver. This coin was not placed into production as it was expensive to extract the silver from the alloy, and the coins were difficult to eject from the dies. Additionally, a drop in the price of copper temporarily eliminated the need to replace the large cent.
The price of copper rose again in the mid-1850s, and the mint again looked for an alternative cent. This time, the cent was reduced in size, only a little larger than a dime. Patterns for the Flying Eagle cent were struck in 1854, and proved to be a suitable replacement for the large cent. The small cent was approved for production in 1856, and several thousand 1856 Flying Eagle cents were sold to collectors. Full-scale production commenced in mid-1857, replacing the large cent last struck earlier that year.
In 1868, eleven years after the last large cent was produced, a mint employee struck around a dozen and a half large cents dated 1868. These coins were struck in both copper and nickel planchets. Also produced that year were about 2 dozen dime patterns were minted in nickel with the obverse die of the 1868 large cent, plus an additional 2 dozen pieces struck in copper.
See also Silver center cent Chain cent Wreath cent Liberty Cap large cent Draped Bust Indian Head cent Lincoln cent
References