Large Cents: A Piece of History in Our Pockets
Large cents are great coins to collect. It had been popular as a collector’s item in the 1880s and its rich history makes it a favorite among the old and young coin collectors. The large cent issued around 1793 and even before it had problems affecting its production which made it more interesting.
Fresh from achieving independence from British rule, the United States had to settle with any kind of material for the large cent. Metals from roofs, nails, even those recovered from shipwrecks were used to forge the first large cents.
Planchets, which were blanks used to mint the coins, were either too soft or had impurities that result to very poor coins. The large cents that were produced back then were uneven in shape and size, some had cracks or the figures in them were distorted. Because the copper used were from old materials, the coins corroded easily and some of them would be severely bent or can even crack into two pieces.
It was also hard to determine the exact copper content of the large cent and most of them have other properties mixed in. In 1836, the US Mint started using steam press which improved the quality of the coin as well regulated its copper content. Large cents have thus become a piece of history in our pockets.
Fresh from achieving independence from British rule, the United States had to settle with any kind of material for the large cent. Metals from roofs, nails, even those recovered from shipwrecks were used to forge the first large cents.
Planchets, which were blanks used to mint the coins, were either too soft or had impurities that result to very poor coins. The large cents that were produced back then were uneven in shape and size, some had cracks or the figures in them were distorted. Because the copper used were from old materials, the coins corroded easily and some of them would be severely bent or can even crack into two pieces.
It was also hard to determine the exact copper content of the large cent and most of them have other properties mixed in. In 1836, the US Mint started using steam press which improved the quality of the coin as well regulated its copper content. Large cents have thus become a piece of history in our pockets.
