1793 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1793

The Philadelphia Mint struck its first coins for circulation in 1793: copper half cents and large cents. The cent appeared in three designs in a single year, from the Chain reverse to the Wreath reverse and then to the Liberty Cap, after the public criticized the first designs.

New this year: the Flowing Hair Large Cent and the Liberty Cap Large Cent.

Last year of the Flowing Hair Large Cent.

The Mint in the 1790s

The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 created the United States Mint and set the dollar as the basic unit of money. The Mint was built in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, on Seventh Street. David Rittenhouse, the astronomer and scientist, was its first director and Henry Voigt served as chief coiner. Robert Scot became the first engraver in 1793 and cut the dies for most designs of the decade.

Coining was slow and hard work. Presses were turned by hand and silver and gold were coined only when depositors brought in bullion or foreign coins to be converted. Copper was always short; the Mint bought scrap and sheet copper wherever it could and from 1797 relied on planchets shipped from Matthew Boulton's works in Birmingham, England. Yellow fever epidemics in Philadelphia closed the Mint for weeks at a time in the late 1790s, which is one reason some dates of the decade are so scarce.

How many coins were made in 1793

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 110,512 coins dated 1793 across 3 issues. In 1794 the figure rose to 949,741.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

1793 coins by denomination

Cents: 110,512 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Flowing Hair Large Cent and Liberty Cap Large Cent. The scarcest is the 1793 (11,056) and the most plentiful the 1793 (Wreath reverse) (63,353).

Every 1793 circulation issue at a glance

• 1793 Liberty Cap Large Cent: 11,056 struck, 2nd lowest of 6 in the series.
• 1793 Flowing Hair Large Cent: 36,103 struck.
• 1793 Flowing Hair Large Cent (Wreath reverse): 63,353 struck.

Flowing Hair Large Cent: The first year of federal cents

Every Flowing Hair cent was struck at Philadelphia in 1793, the first full year the new Mint operated. The Chain reverse came first, in two varieties: early dies abbreviate the legend to AMERI. while later ones spell out AMERICA. Critics disliked both the wild-haired Liberty and the linked chain, so within weeks the Mint switched to a Wreath reverse and a reworked obverse with a sprig above the date. Wreath cents come with a vine and bars edge or a lettered edge, plus the rare Strawberry Leaf variety with only a few examples known.

The recorded figures are 36,103 Chain cents and 63,353 Wreath cents, a tiny output for a national coin. These were struck on hand-cut planchets of uneven copper using a screw press, so strikes are often soft at the hair and the rims. Most survivors are worn to Good or Very Good, many with dark, porous or corroded surfaces. Collectors judge them by whether the date, the full legend and the main design are still readable.

See every Flowing Hair Large Cent →

Liberty Cap Large Cent: Thick planchets and the 1794 die bonanza

Joseph Wright engraved the first Liberty Cap dies in the late summer of 1793. Only 11,056 cents of that design were coined before the year ended, making the 1793 Liberty Cap the scarcest cent of its date. Wright died of yellow fever that autumn, so the 1794 dies were cut by Robert Scot and his helpers. These coins were struck on heavy 208 grain planchets with the edge lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR.

Output jumped to 918,521 in 1794. The Mint used dozens of die pairs to get there. Collectors still sort 1794 cents by portrait style (Head of 1793, Head of 1794 and Head of 1795) and chase oddities such as the No Fraction Bar reverse and the Starred Reverse, which has 94 tiny stars hidden in the border. A 1793 Liberty Cap is a true rarity in any grade, while 1794 survivors are more available but usually worn, dark and rough.

See every Liberty Cap Large Cent →