Hello, I am new to coin talk, I have been looking at this site for sometime, and it seems that there is some very knowledgeable people on this site, so I am reaching out and asking for help on this coin as I am not sure of this coin ...Is it a 1799 ??? any Thoughts??? Thanks in advance. JLP
Looks like this (It is hard to see the first #'s in your date, but it looks like a "7" to me): "The United States large cent was a coin produced by the United States mint and had a value of one penny or 1/100th of a U.S. dollar. The very first large cent was produced in 1793 and the series continued up to 1857. This was the very first coin that was produced by the United States that was produced solely by America. The large cent saw many designs and designers during the coin's production. There was 8 different designs from 1793-1857. The large cent was then changed to the same size pennies that we see today. Henry Voight was the designer of the 1793 large cent. The coin had a chain design of the reverse side of the coin and the design enraged the public. They said the coin depicts slavery. After only 36,103 produced coins, the design was changed. Later in 1793, Mint Director David Rittenhouse chose Adam Eckfeldt to change the design of the reverse. Eckfeldt discarded the chain design and replaced it with a wreath. On this coin, the hair on the obverse was longer and wider. In 1793, Rittenhouse hired Joseph Wright to change the design once more. In the early years, the large cent had many issues with striking and minting errors. Wright added a cap to this design, which stood for peace. He also changed the wreath to a laurel design. Robert Scot also helped with revisions of this design. Robert Scot was given the power to redesign all U.S. coins in 1796, including the large cent. This new design featured Liberty wearing a drapery at her neckline. There was also a ribbon added in her flowing hair. This coin was revised several times during this coin's design, but lasted until 1807. John Reich was chosen to change the design in 1808. Reich was Robert Scot's assistant at the time the design was once again changed. Robert Patterson was the new Mint Director at the time and he appointed Reich to do the design. This design was called the "Classic Head" design because of the fillet that Liberty wore. The coin was made with high quality copper, but very little metals. Due to this fact, the coin usually worn quickly. These coins are highly valued today because there are only a few known to exist in good condition. In 1816, the large cent was changed again. The new design was made by Robert Scot. On this design, Liberty was portrayed larger and stars were added on the obverse. It gave Liberty a younger look. The last design change came in 1935 when Christian Gobrecht redesigned the coin. He gave Liberty a slim look on the new design. The design was revised here and there, but made it through all the way until the last coins were produced in 1857. A mint employee took these large cent plachets and produced large cent coins dated for 1868. Only a few are known to exist today. They must have tried to sell the coins at the time because they were very rare."
It's really hard to tell since most of the diagnostic details have been obliterated. However, I tend to think it's not a 1799. There were only three (3) die pairs used in 1799...and the low position of the final number seems too low for the 1799. The cross bar of the fraction appears to extend further right on your coin than any of the 1799 coins, also. If it is a 1799, S-189 would be the closest match. If your coin isn't a 1799, the only other possibility might be a 1798. After reviewing the numerous die pairs of the 1798 issue it's still difficult to make a definitive match. The closest guess I can make is "possibly" the 1798 S-185.
And with coins like this, you default to the more common issue if there is doubt. Its like a 1916 mercury, unless you can prove definitively the mintmark is a D you assume its an S if its so worn as to be unidentifiable.
It's coins like this that might not be worth too much in financial terms, but is a living piece of history. Very cool.
Here are some historical events which happend in the U.S. 1798-1799 (wikipedia) 1798 February 15 – Federalist Congressman Roger Griswold of Connecticut attacks Vermont Representative Matthew Lyon with a walking stick in the chambers of the United States House of Representatives. March – The XYZ Affair begins, souring relations between the United States and France. April – U.S. House of Representatives elections begin in New York and continue into 1799. April 7 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina and is later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the U.S. and Spain. July 7 – Quasi-War: The United States Congress rescinds treaties with France, sparking the war. July 9 – Quasi-War: The Act Further to Protect the Commerce of the United States is approved by Congress, authorizing the President to use military force against France. July 11 – The United States Marine Corps is established by Congress (the Marine Corps had existed prior, see history of the United States Marine Corps). July 14 – The Alien and Sedition Acts become United States law, making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government. July 16 – The Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen Act is signed into law, creating the Marine Hospital Service, the forerunner to the current United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. August 31/September 1 – The first bank robbery in United States history takes place at the Bank of Pennsylvania at Carpenters' Hall during the night or early morning. The robbers accessed the vault using a key and took US$162,821.[SUP][1][/SUP] September – Charles Brockden Brown publishes the first significant American novel, the Gothic fiction Wieland: or, The Transformation; an American Tale. October 2 – The Treaty of Tellico is signed between the United States and the Cherokee Nation. · 1799 January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the Napoleonic Wars. March 1 – Federalist James Ross becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate. March 7 – Napoleon captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives. March 22 – Roddy McCorley is executed in the town of Toomebridge by the British for his part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. March 29 – New York passes a law aimed at gradually abolishing slavery in the state. May 4 – Battle of Seringapatam: Tippu Sultan is defeated and killed by the British. May 21 – Siege of Acre ends after two months: Napoleon's attempt to widen his Middle Eastern campaign into Syria is frustrated by Ottoman forces, and he withdraws to Egypt. May 27 – Battle of Winterthur: Habsburg forces secure control of north east Switzerland from the French Army of the Danube. July 7 – Ranjit Singh's men take their positions outside Lahore. July 12 – Ranjit Singh the Great conquers Lahore and becomes ruler of the Punjab. July 15 – In the Egyptian port city of Rosetta, French Captain Pierre Bouchard finds the Rosetta Stone. July 25 – At Aboukir in Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte defeats 10,000 Ottoman Mamluk troops under Mustafa Pasha. August 27 – The British and Russians send an expedition to the Batavian Republic (now the Netherlands). August 30 – British forces under Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell capture the entire Dutch fleet. October 6 – Battle of Castricum: Franco-Dutch forces defeat the Russo-British expedition force. October 9 – The HMS Lutine (a famous treasure wreck) is sunk. October 18 – Anglo-Russian expedition forces surrender in Holland. November 9 – Napoleon overthrows the French Directory. December A new constitution is approved in a plebiscite in France. Napoleon becomes First Consul. December 14 – George Washington, the first President of the United States, dies in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Yep - you need Marshall or Conder101 to weigh in on this one. I just can't see enough to make a guess or determine what it might be.
It definitely isn't S188 or NC-1, the spacing of the date isn't right. I tend to discount S-189 because the stem of the berry to the right of the E in ONE is longer than it should be and the fraction bar is heavy and seem skewed right. the fraction bar on the 189 is fairly thin. I see no trace of the lump between the E of ONE and the T in CENT. (The lump isn't always there, but it usually is.) I wish part of LIBERTY was still visible. that's one of the first places I look at when checking a 1799. Over all the general impression I get looking at the coin is that it is a 1798. Just the overall look and the general shape of what I can see of the last digit to me says 98.
The last digit is an 8, its hard to see but you can play around with the image with a photo software.
Thanks for the info! Thank you all of you guys for your responses, I really appreciate it. I have alot of coins that I am really not sure of... I will be posting a few more threads......VERY MUCH APPRECIATED FOR EVERYONES TIME. THANKS, JLP
my wife kids and i where camping in the desert in emery county utah i was using my new metal detector i got that christmas and i found a small box that was wrapped up in old looking bag about 1 foot in the dirt when i opened it it had 4 coins in it a 1880 silver dollar a 1866 silver dollar and a old looking AVI hotel and casino silver dollar token a ring that looked like it came from the nose of a cow and a 1793 large penny i dont know anything about coins so when i first saw it i thought it was one of them novelty coins never heard of a large cent before so i just tossed it in my comp desk that was about 8 years ago my hard drive crashed and i had a new friend help me install a new one when he saw it he about passed out and told me what is was and how much it might be worth is there away to see if its real i still have all the coins but not the cows nose ring
I agree, a picture might be able to answer the questions, or at least point you in the right direction.
Worn out 1798's often get mistaken for 1799's, and in this case I can see why the OP initially thought that this was a '99.
