Hobbies And Interests
Size
The large cent was 26 to 27 millimeters in diameter, or slightly larger than a quarter, and weighed about 13 grams.
Designs
Large cents went through a few design changes during their existence. The first design is called Flowing Hair because the representation of Liberty on the front has long hair. The most common design was the Liberty Head coin, produced from 1815 to 1857. It features lady Liberty with the word "Liberty" on her headband.
Mintage
All large cents were minted in Philadelphia, which is unusual for U.S. coins. The mint first reached a yearly production of more than 1 million large cents in 1798. In following years, mintage grew to nearly 10 million before leveling off.
Values
Many large cents in well-worn good (G-4) condition sell for about $20, while those in better conditions can sell for significantly higher. A copy of the first 1793 large cent can sell for more than $50,000 in extremely fine (EF-40) condition.
Years
Many of the earliest large cents were actually minted after the year shown on the coin.