1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 109,825 made
- Mintage
- 109,825
- Metal
- 100% copper
- Weight
- 10.89 g
- Diameter
- 29 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1796 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent rare?
- Yes. Only 109,825 were made, 4th lowest of the 6 regular issues in the series.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1796 are scarcer?
- The 1795 (Reeded edge, 9 known) at 9, the 1793 at 11,056, the 1795 at 37,000. So the 1796 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent coins were made?
- 109,825.
What to check on your 1796
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair curls around the face and the leaves of the wreath. Strong, even brown surfaces are prized. Many survivors are rough or corroded and trade at a fraction of a "choice" example.
Most surviving coppers from 1796 show some corrosion, scratches or porous surfaces. Smooth, evenly toned coins are much scarcer than the mintage suggests, so surface quality matters as much as the grade. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1796
Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1796. Only 109,825 were made, against 501,500 the year before. That drop is why the 1796 is the one people look for. It was also the last year of the series.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1796 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1795 (37,000) and the 1795 (Plain edge) (501,500).
Across Philadelphia's 6 Liberty Cap Large Cent issues, the hardest to find is the 1795 (Reeded edge, 9 known) with 9 made. The 1796 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1790s it's 4th smallest of 6, between the 1795 (37,000) and the 1795 (Plain edge) (501,500).
1796 is the last year the Liberty Cap Large Cent was made in 100% copper. Check the edge or weigh it if you find one from the year after.
Lighter cents and a plain edge (1795 to 1796)
Rising copper costs led to a weight cut to 168 grains, confirmed by a presidential proclamation in January 1796. The year opened with cents carrying the lettered edge (about 37,000 recorded). The lettering was then dropped as planchets grew thinner. Plain edge cents made up most of the year with a reported 501,500 pieces. A reeded edge 1795 is known in only a handful of examples. The so called Jefferson Head cent of 1795, made by John Harper outside the Mint, is collected alongside the regular issues but is a separate piece.
In 1796 the Liberty Cap portrait shared the year with the new Draped Bust design. Only 109,825 Liberty Cap cents were reported before the switch. The thinner 1795 and 1796 planchets wore faster, so these dates are most often seen in Good to Fine with smooth, flattened hair. Because the Mint was still learning to make dies, many 1795 and 1796 cents show die cracks, clashing or weak centers, details that help specialists attribute each die marriage.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1796
The first quarter dollars, dimes and $2.50 quarter eagles were struck in 1796, completing the denominations authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The Draped Bust design reached the cent and the smaller silver coins the same year.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces right with a pole over her shoulder topped by a liberty cap, an old symbol of freedom. LIBERTY is above and the date below. The reverse has a wreath around ONE CENT, the fraction 1/100 below and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim. Early coins have an edge lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR; later coins are plain-edged and thinner.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Liberty Cap Large Cent (1793–1796) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1796 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 109,825 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 100% copper |
| Weight | 10.89 grams |
| Diameter | 29 mm |
| Edge | Lettered ("ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR") or plain |
| Designer | Joseph Wright; later dies by Robert Scot and John Smith Gardner |
Mintage: United States cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.