Unique Early Cent Collection

These coins have been hand-picked from the best examples of publicly circulated coins. Collection includes:

Large cent coin

Minted from 1793 to 1857, when it was officially replaced by the modern-size one-cent coin

Made of 100% copper with an original face value of 1/100 of a dollar

Contained twice as much copper as the half cent

All large cents were minted in Philadelphia

Obverse design was modified through the years

The final designs were called the Coronet Cents and featured the 'Matron Head' designs that gave Liberty a slimmer, more youthful appearance

Indian Head cent

One-cent coin produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1859 to 1909

Designed by James Barton Longacre, the Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint

Lincoln Wheat Ears cent

Introduced in 1909 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth

First U.S. circulating coin to bear a president's image 

The Lincoln cent (sometimes called the Lincoln penny) is a one-cent coin that has been struck by the United States Mint since 1909. The obverse or heads side was designed by Victor David Brenner, as was the original reverse.

 In January 1909, the Mint engaged Brenner to design a cent depicting the late president Abraham Lincoln, 1909 being the centennial year of his birth. It was the first widely circulating design of a U.S. president on a coin, an idea that had been seen as too monarchical in the past, namely by George Washington. Nevertheless, Brenner's design was eventually approved, and the new coins were issued to great public interest on August 2, 1909.

Brenner's initials (VDB), on the reverse at its base, were deemed too prominent once the coins were issued, and were removed within days of the release. The initials were restored, this time smaller, on Lincoln's shoulder, in 1918. Originally struck in 95% copper, the cent coin was changed for one year to steel in 1943 as copper was needed to aid in the war effort.