Wreath Cents 1793 Coin Guide
Wreath Cents 1793
The first copper coins of the new United States Mint struck for general circulation were the 1793 Chain Cents.
Wreath cent: the type of 1793 Cents with a wreath on the reverse that replaced the 1793 Chain Cent.
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Wreath cent Common name for the second large cent type of 1793. Complaints about the Chain cent led to the redesign resulting in the Flowing Hair with wreath reverse type.
Sheldon divided the Wreath cents into nine varieties that are within collectors' reach and four varieties termed NC or "Non-Collectible". NC varieties are scattered among all early cent dates and are the dream of many a sharp-eyed copper specialist.
As so much time and effort had gone into coining the 1793 Chain cents and Wreath cents, both time and copper planchets were in short supply when it came time to strike Liberty Cap large cents in 1793.
Earlier copper coinage, such as the Chain cent and Wreath cent had not been well received by the public, and the Flowing Hair design of the silver coins was widely criticized.
Flowing Hair Wreath Cent, 1793
Liberty Cap Cent, 1793-1796
Draped Bust Cent, 1796-1807
Classic Head Cent, 1808-1814
Coronet Cent, 1816-1857
Flying Eagle Cent, 1856-1858
Indian Head cent, 1859-1909
Lincoln Wheat Ears Cent, 1909-1958 ...
The 1793 Chain and Wreath cent designs are distinctive and were not used on other denominations, but the head of Miss Liberty with a Liberty Cap behind was used on the half cent of 1793 and, facing in the opposite direction (right instead of left), ...
Here is the 1953 Franklin Half Struck
By GM's 1793 Wreath Cent Dies
Here is the Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Struck by GM's "Contaminated" 1793 Wreath Cent Dies.
Notice the date "1953" showing below Liberty's chin.
with a laurel wreath (for victory, as in "winning your laurels"), and the ugly head (dubbed "a squaw in a fright") was strengthened and beautified. This design was obviously popular, as several have been saved as keepsakes. The 63,353 wreath cents ...
Constitution; seven spoons made by Paul Revere; a 1776 Continental dollar in pewter graded NGC MS-67; 1793 Wreath cent PCGS MS-69 brown; 1795 Large Eagle $5 gold NGC Specimen-64; and 1800 $10 gold NGC Specimen-65.
This design was known as Wreath Cent. However this design fared little better than its predecessor and was soon replaced. The Liberty Cap design turned out to be a little more stable and was minted from 1794 to 1796.
Coins struck from worn dies often appear to be weakly struck but no amount of striking pressure will produce detail that does not exist. Wreath cent Common name for the second large cent type of 1793.
 See also: Cent, Wreath, Liberty, Coin, Mint
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