Classic Head Cents 1808-1814 Coin Guide
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Classic Head Cents 1808-1814
Mention the word "classic" and people think of works that are
beautiful and enduring-Greek and Roman statues, Shakespearean sonnets,
even luxury cars from a bygone era. The so-called "Classic Head"
large cent produced by the United States Mint in the early 1800s is old
enough to be thought of in that context, but it's not exactly
"classic" in terms of beauty. On the contrary, its portraiture
is plain-some might even say homely. And yet, while it may be misnamed, it
is viewed with great affection by many collectors.
The large, copper cents issued by the Mint during the nation's
formative years underwent frequent changes in design. Four major changes
occurred before cent coinage was even five years old, and lesser
variations took place with regularity within these basic types. A
semblance of stability seemed to have been established when the Draped
Bust design introduced in 1796 not only lasted through the turn of the new
century but actually completed 10 full years of production. But in 1806, a
new director, Robert Patterson, took command at the Mint, and that
signaled yet another shake-up for the coinage-including the cent.
The U. S. coins being issued at that time all bore designs by the
Mint's chief engraver, Robert Scot: The silver and minor coins carried
Draped Bust portraits of Miss Liberty, while Capped Bust likenesses
appeared on the gold coins. Mint Director Patterson clearly wasn't
impressed, for in 1807 he commissioned new designs for each and every one
of these coins.
The handwriting was on the wall for Scot (and in the mail) when
Patterson wrote to President Thomas Jefferson in March of 1807 suggesting
that Scot's "advancing age" (he was then 62) made his "good
health" doubtful. On that basis, he sought authorization to hire John
Reich, a talented young engraver, to serve as Scot's assistant and
redesign the coinage, arguing that "the beauty of our coins would be
greatly improved by the assistance of his masterly hand." Jefferson
acceded, and on April 1 of that year, Patterson promoted Reich, then an
unsung die-sinker at the Mint, to the post of second engraver.
Reich has gained a wide following among collectors in the nearly two
centuries since then. An organization of numismatists enamored of coins of
the era bears his name. But his monetary reward was minimal at the time:
He earned only $600 a year-not much more than the wages being paid to
common laborers. Then again, the ill-used artist had little leverage:
Escaping the Napoleonic Wars, he had come to the United States from his
native Germany as an indentured servant.
Reich's assignment from Patterson was all-inclusive: He revamped every
coin from the half cent through the half eagle, the lowest and highest
denominations then being produced. His obverse design for the cent (and
half cent) was a left-facing portrait of Liberty with curly hair, tied
with a headband inscribed LIBERTY. Miss Liberty is surrounded by 13 stars,
seven to the left and six to the right, with the date below her. The
coin's reverse carries the statement of value, ONE CENT, within a
continuous wreath. This, in turn, is encircled by the inscription UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
Reich's depiction of Liberty has often been referred to as the
"Turban Head" portrait, a name it was given by 19th-century coin
dealer Edouard Frossard. Either Frossard or collectors interpreting his
remarks are confused: Liberty wears no hat of any type on the copper
coins, sporting only a headband. Perhaps Frossard was referring to the cap
or turban appearing on the gold and silver coins. The late Walter Breen, a
renowned numismatic scholar, tartly observed, Frossard "probably had
never seen a real turban." The term "Classic Head" is
credited to Ebenezer Locke Mason Jr., who proposed it in his hobby
periodical, Mason's Coin and Stamp Collector's Magazine, in 1868. The
"classical" connection is the fillet, or narrow headband, a
device which dates back to ancient Greece. But the parallelism is flawed,
for only young male athletes wore fillets in ancient times: They were
prizes awarded to winners of local sporting competitions.
Production of the new design began in 1808, with just over one million
pieces struck. A cent shortage developed the following year, however, when
the Mint ran out of planchets. Official records state that 222,867 cents
were made in 1809, but research has uncovered that nearly 50,000 cents
minted in June of 1809 may have been struck with leftover 1808 dies.
Production returned to normal in 1810; in fact, that year's output of
1,458,500 was the highpoint for the series. But a roller-coaster ride
began in 1811 when mintage fell to 218,025, the series' low point, rising
sharply in 1812, then dropping again appreciably in 1813. After a final
low-mintage year in 1814, the abbreviated series came to an end.
Short of planchets again in 1815, the Mint made no cents with that
date-the only year missing from U.S. cent coinage from 1793 to the
present. In 1816, when production resumed, the cent bore Robert Scot's new
and undistinguished "Matron Head" design.
Combined total mintage for the series' seven dates is just
4,757,722-all from the Philadelphia Mint. There are no great rarities in
the series, but no "common dates" either. The scarcest date is
1809, usually seen darkly colored and porous, a condition familiar to much
of the series. Classic Head cents are widely collected by date; dedicated
hobbyists often include the overdates and other varieties in their sets,
as well. Type collectors pursue the more commonly found 1814 coins, with
their generally sharper strikes and occasional touches of mint red. The
Mint made no proofs, but some partially mint-red and prooflike examples of
1810 are known, discovered in a tiny hoard in the 1930s. Points to check
for wear include the hair above Liberty's eye and the leaves next to the O
in ONE and the T in CENT.
Classic Head cents are relatively scarce in every collectable grade,
but exceptionally so in mint condition. This is partly due to the unusual
softness of the inferior quality planchets received from the British firm
of Boulton and Watt, but also due to supply and demand: The large number
of collectors pursuing the early coppers has always limited the number of
choice pieces available for sale. Unfortunately, there have been no hoards
discovered of any consequence. The numismatic fraternity is limited to the
small number of high-grade specimens that very infrequently return to the
fold from one of their own.
Collectors with more than a casual interest in this series would be
well advised to delve into the large wealth of information available on
these and other early large cents, most notably Penny Whimsy, the updated
version of Dr. William H. Sheldon's definitive work on the large coppers,
Early American Cents. Sheldon's variety and Condition Census numbering
system is the standard among large cent aficionados, many of who claim
membership in the Early American Coppers Club (EAC).
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 29 millimeters Weight: 10.89 grams Composition: Copper Edge:
Plain
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by
Design Types, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and
Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete
Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York,
1988. Noyes, William C., United States Large Cents 1793-1814, Published by
the author, Monument Beach, MA, 1991. Sheldon, William H., Penny Whimsy, A
Revision of Early American Cents 1794-1814, Quarterman Publications,
Lawrence, MA, 1976. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing
Co., New York, 1966. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins,
47th Edition, Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993.
Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.
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