Small and large edge lettering on 1794 half cents

There are no good comparison images on the interwebs, which I found very surprising because the difference could literally mean the difference of multiple tens of thousands of dollars. I “accidentally” bought a couple 1794 half cents, so I took pics of the edge to create a reference image that I had been wishing existed.

So, what is the difference? Well, the stupid answer is the size of the letters. The large letters look quite blocky on the edge and tend to go from rim to rim. The small letters tend to have much more space. However, the main diagnostic is the spacing. Look at the spaces between words. Observe how the LL hundred is “HUNDRED” while the SM hundred is “HUNDR ED”. There are several other tells that are plainly obvious in the image below.

Enjoy, and happy hunting!

 

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Courtesy NGC:

Large letters:



Small Letters:

 

Large Letters?

 

Yessir