Large Cent

America’s first Penny coin was about the size of a Half Dollar!

Known as the Large Penny, it was made with copper, and it was one of the first coins ever struck by the new United States Mint in 1793. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Liberty surrounded by 13 stars (representing the original 13 states), while the reverse shows the denomination within a wreath. The coin is so large because it actually contained one penny’s worth of copper. Like the silver and gold coins of this era, its intrinsic metal value was equal to its face value. As a result, people trusted this coin because it was always worth its face value.
By the 1850’s, small denomination coins like this were becoming scarce because people were hoarding them due to economic uncertainty and the fear of civil war. Just a few years after the last Large Penny was issued, the Civil War started.The last Large Penny was made in 1857; it was replaced by the small experimental Flying Eagle Penny and Indian Head Penny. The reasons for the demise of the Large Penny include the fact that people complained about its weight as they carried pockets full of these coins. In addition, copper prices were rising so much that it became profitable to melt the coins because eventually each one contained more than one penny’s worth of copper. It has been over 150 years since the last Large Penny was made. All coins of the 19th century are getting rarer and more desirable every day, and this is one of the most fascinating and desirable coins from this era. Very few have survived for today’s collectors, and this coin is prized by collectors everywhere. The total mintage of all Large Pennies in the 64 years from 1793 to 1857 is about equal to the number of modern Lincoln Pennies struck every six days! And just a tiny fraction of the original coins have survived for today’s collectors.

The coin is carefully hand-selected for exceptional collector quality and is displayed in a custom presentation box with a Certificate of Authenticity.