The Classic Head Cents John Reich was hired as an assistant mint engraver in 1807. He set to work right away with his Classic Head design, which first appeared on the half dollar. Chief Mint Engraver, Robert Scot opposed Reich’s hiring. He was overruled because there was a general perception that age was affecting Scot’s work. Time would prove that to be an accurate assessment. Reich had been billed as the best die sinker available in America, and his earlier work had supported that. The inaugural medal he produced in 1801 for Thomas Jefferson was on a par with the medals that had been made in Europe. Reich brought his Classic Head design to the cent in 1808. He brought with it several important innovations. First he included the statutorily required word “LIBERTY” on the bust of Ms. Liberty. That relieved the die sinker of the need to punch in the word, by hand, above her head. On the reverse, Reich was able to hub the wreath and the words “ONE CENT,” which reduced the number of steps that were required to make the die. Riech’s dies also had a much long useful life, which decreased the number dies that were needed for coinage. The Classic Head Cent is a challenging coin, for variety, date and type collectors. It is challenging to find these coins in anything but “details” holders. Many pieces have defects which preclude a straight grade. The most often cited problems are environmental damage, but other defects are seen also. Another factor is the overall mintage. From 1796 to 1807, 16,069,270 Draped Bust Cents were minted. The Classic Head mintage from 1808 to 1814 was 4,757,722. The estimated survival rates enhance these differences. David Bowers has estimated that from 101,800 to 201,600 Draped Bust Cents have survived in all grades. His estimate for the Classic Head type is 20,500 to 50,800 pieces. There have also been commentaries about the quality of the copper which was used in Classic Head Cents. Many authorities claim that it was softer than it had been in prior years. Overall there are no extreme rarities within the series. The two toughest dates are 1809 and 1811. Both of those dates are hard to find in high grade, but lower grade pieces are not almost prohibitive as is the case with the 1793, 1799 and 1804 cents from previous years. 1808 John Reich’s first efforts at making dies for his Classic Head design were not overly successful. If the emission sequences are correct, the first two of the three die varieties are not well struck. The third one is, but is difficult to find in high grade. (Mint State). The piece in my date set is an example of those early difficulties. There is a large die crack from the “D” in “UNITED” which runs through the wreath to the last “S” in “STATES.” There are other lesser cracks on the upper portion of the die. The large crack caused that portion of the die to sink, which resulted in weakness in the word “STATES.” This die sinkage effected the obverse on the first star which made it weakly struck. Aside from the forementioned weaknesses, overall the coin has good color and reasonable sharpness for a Classic Head Cent. NGC graded it EF-40. It is noted that this piece came from coin dealer, Johathan Kern’s collection. 1808 large cent, Sheldon variety #277, Rarity rating 2.
