Coronet Cents 1816-1839 Coin Guide
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Coronet Cents 1816-1839
In 1814, as Napoleon's troops prepared for their final battle against
the armies of England and her continental allies, England's second
war-against the United States-seemed far removed from her vital national
interests. Naval defeats on the Great Lakes made it impossible to
successfully prosecute the war, and Jackson's defense of New Orleans had
dampened the Foreign Office's enthusiasm for a military victory. During
the two years of hostilities, however, while victory eluded the British,
harassing actions continued on the high seas and commerce was disrupted
whenever possible, affecting many aspects of American life.
By 1814, U.S. copper coinage had also become a casualty of the war. For
more than twenty years the Mint had purchased blank, copper planchets from
the English manufacturer, Boulton & Watt of Liverpool. Early in the
war supplies stopped, and by 1814 the last of the imported copper blanks
had been turned into cents of the "Classic Head" design.
Although no copper planchets were available for coinage in 1815, this idle
year proved useful, as it allowed a new obverse design to be engraved for
cents and marked the beginning of a new era of mechanization and
uniformity.
The Mint had been harshly criticized since it struck its first coins in
1793. As an institution it had become increasingly sensitive to public
ridicule. Shortly after the Classic Head cent was introduced in 1808,
critics pointed out that the fillet on Liberty's head had not been worn by
women in Classical times but was given as a prize to boy athletes who had
won town games. Desiring a new design, but wishing to avoid further
embarrassment, Mint officials bypassed Assistant Engraver John Reich (who
they had previously chosen over Chief Engraver Robert Scot to create the
Classic Head) and assigned Scot to redesign the cent. Scot's creation went
into production in 1816 and was a resounding artistic failure, but it did
have one redeeming quality: no one could mistake the new Liberty for a boy
athlete.
The new design featured an enlarged head of Liberty. The fillet holding
the hair on the previous Classic Head series was replaced by a coronet and
the word LIBERTY was added in relief. The reverse was essentially
unchanged and retained the "Christmas wreath" of Reich's 1808
design. While generally referred to as the "Coronet" type, this
is not a universally accepted name. Some collectors prefer "Matron
Head." Dr. William Sheldon, author of the standard reference for
cents struck from 1793 to 1814, scathingly remarked that the figure of
Liberty on these coins "resembled the head of an obese ward boss
instead of a lady."
Photo courtesy LeeG from the PCGS boards
During the 24 years of the Coronet design (1816-1839), the Philadelphia
Mint produced a total of 51,706,473 pieces. Among numerous overdates and
varieties, one in particular stands out: 1817 with fifteen stars on the
obverse. Why this coin has fifteen stars is still a subject of debate, but
one theory has it that Scot erred while punching in the devices and spaced
the first several stars too close to one another. Wishing to save the die,
he added enough stars to balance the design, exceeding by two the normally
required thirteen stars.
While none of the dates in the series are outstanding rarities, the
"key" date is 1823. It is scarce in all grades. Although
counterfeits in the series are rarely seen, several generations of
restrikes for the 1823 cents exist, each with successively larger and
larger die breaks on the obverse. The years of 1835 through 1839,
redesigned by either William Kneass before his stroke or Christian
Gobrecht afterward, are considered transitional. While the design differs
in several significant aspects, these years are generally collected within
the Coronet series. In 1839, four different varieties were struck, among
which are two of the most widely collected in 19th century numismatics:
the so-called Silly Head and the Booby Head.
Proofs are very rare and were generally made only for diplomatic
presentation sets. Several dates are reported to have a proof finish on
the obverse and mint frost on the reverse. Allegedly, these
"one-sided proofs" were struck for collectors who wished to
display their coins with the obverse side up and did not care how the
reverse was finished.
Grading Coronet cents is relatively uncomplicated due to the coin's
simple design. Wear first shows on the highpoints of the hair curls and on
the highpoints of the leaves. A caveat, however: Many copper collectors
use grading standards agreed upon by the Early American Coppers Society,
and application of these standards can be quite confusing to
non-specialists.
Collected as type coins, by date and by die variety, Coronet cents are
a fascinating series. For the variety specialist, the standard reference
was for many years Howard Newcomb's United States Large Cents 1816-1857.
While Newcomb's numbering system is still used, collectors will find it
easier to attribute these varieties with more recent and well illustrated
books by William C. Noyes and John D. Wright (see the Bibliography below).
Due to a numismatically fortuitous event over 125 years ago, the
condition conscious type collector will find this series particularly
interesting. Shortly after the Civil War, a large keg was found beneath an
old railway platform in Georgia. Upon opening, it was discovered to
contain approximately 14,000 large cents dated from 1816 through 1820. All
the coins were uncirculated, but many showed carbon flecks from moisture
in the atmosphere. The keg was sold to a dry-goods merchant in Norwich,
New York who attempted to pass the old coins out to customers as a
publicity stunt, but many people refused what was by that time an
unfamiliar coin. The remainder of the keg was sold to John Randall, a
Norwich coin collector, for 90 cents on the dollar. Randall sold the coins
off slowly over the years, in spite of the rumors that they were restrikes.
In 1878, as part of Randall's estate, the remaining 2,116 Coronet cents
from the hoard were sold at public auction. The 1819s brought $1.28 each,
but most of the other dates realized only 5-7 cents apiece. Almost all
mint state cents from 1816-1820, many of which still possess original mint
red color, are from Randall's hoard. Dates from the 1820s, however, are
quite rare in mint state.
When new in 1816 the Coronet design represented the latest in mint
technology and design, but by 1839 both design and manufacturing methods
were overtaken by the advent of the steam powered coin press. New designs
were the order of the day, and the old Coronet cent passed into the
quaintness of a bygone era, replaced by Christian Gobrecht's Braided Hair
design.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 28 to 29 millimeters Weight: 10.89 grams Composition: Copper
Edge: Plain
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, United States Copper
Coins, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and Merena
Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1984. Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by
Design Types, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and
Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's
Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday,
New York, 1988. Newcomb, Howard R., United States Copper Cents 1816-1857,
Quarterman Publications, Lawrence, MA, 1991. Noyes, William C., United
States Large Cents 1816-1839, Published by the author, Monument Beach, MA,
1991. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing, New York,
1966. Wright, John D., The Cent Book 1816-1839, Published by the author,
St. Joseph, MI, 1992.
Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.
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