Coin Collecting at The Coin Alley

The design of coin was extremely unpopular, due to the fact that its design depicted slavery.  the general public believed that the coins chains more represented slavery and bondage, than unity and independence.  So the coin was short lived and replaced at a later time with the 1793 Wreath type.

The Flowing Hair Chain Type Large Cent features Miss Liberty on the front of the coin, with Liberty written above her head and the date of 1793 below her. On the obverse side of the large cent is written United States of America along the outer rim of the coin, with One Cent written on the center surrounded by linked chain. There was no mint mark on these coins because they were only minted in Philadelphia. The coins were made with copper and weighed 13.4 grams, and had a diameter of 26 - 27 millimeters. The edge of the coin has bars and slender vines and leaves.

Henry Voight was responsible for designing and engraving the dies for these coins. Voight was a skilled mechanic and a well known watch maker, Voight was ordered by Rittenhouse (the US MINT Director at the time) to begin designing and making the new currency. The chain design was simple enough and is easily the most successful element on the coin. It bears fifteen interlocking links to form the chain, with the words ONE CENT and the fraction 1/100 inside.

Numerous specimens were struck from clashed dies, a minting problem that occurs when the obverse and reverse dies clash with each other without a blank planchet between them. This would leave an impression of the obverse on the reverse and vice versa.  So coins which were struck after a the minting error will show an impression of both obverse and reverse on each side.  So people who referred to “Liberty in chains” was probably referring to the mint error coins, which would show traces of the chain in front of Liberty’s neck and face.

Women in the late 18th century had neatly coiffed hair, unlike the look  of Liberty on the Chain cent. The many disapproving comments that the Mint and Voight took, resulted in bringing Adam Eckfeldt, and accomplished artist who redesigned the Chain Cent into the Wreath Type.  This designed proved to much more approving to the general public, even though it was just a temporary fix. 

There has been a growing interest in early US Large Cents, and the Chain Cents, being the first of the US Mint Coins to be struck are among the rarest and most highly sought after coins to be collected.  Since only a few of these coins survived they are extremely limited in their supply, which makes them some of today's most prized coins.  Prized coins demands high prices, and XF specimen's have been fetching prices of high 70,000 to low 80,000 dollars.       

• Coin Articles
• Why Coin Collect
• Price Guides
• Coins in the News
• Coin Grading
• Links and Resources
• Coin Terms and Lingo
• Online Coin Store
• Our Home Page
• Contact The Coin Alley about Wisconsin Quarter Error