CLASSIC HEAD CENTS
1808-1814
At the present time there is a strong interest in early American copper coins by a wide spectrum of collectors, ranging from those who specialize in die varieties to type collectors, content with one of each design. Most of the interest is concentrated prior to 1815, with the heaviest competition for Draped Bust cents of 1796-1807. Yet, the Classic Head cents of 1808-1814 are not far behind in collector thoughts and are worthy of serious study.
Professor Robert Patterson, personally chosen by President Thomas Jefferson in the spring of 1805 to become mint director, also had the singular distinction of advising Lewis and Clark on various scientific and mathematical matters before the expedition left for the Pacific Ocean.
Patterson’s predecessor as director, Elias Boudinot, resigned at the end of June 1805 to pursue a leisurely retirement, which included writing and philanthropic work. Boudinot, however, was a Federalist while Jefferson and Patterson were staunch Republicans (now called Democrats). The new director believed that U.S. coinage designs ought to reflect not only the views of the party in power but also clothing fashions of the new century.
The director found himself in a quandary when it came to coinage redesign. The chief engraver was Robert Scot, who was not only also a Federalist but then about 60 years of age, considered by some in those days as to be past his prime when it came to die work.
To cut this Gordian Knot, Patterson heeded the advice of Chief Coiner Henry Voight, the only other Republican officer
in the Mint, to hire John Reich as a special engraver to carry out the redesign work under the director’s close supervision. Reich, a former indentured servant who had been freed from servitude by Voight, had been an engraver in his native Germany and now followed this line of work in America.
Reich had been employed by Director Boudinot to engrave a pair of medal dies honoring the inauguration of Jefferson as president in March 1801. At the same time, the struck medal also commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It is believed that Reich also helped with the Indian Peace medal dies for President Jefferson. In both cases, the skilled workmanship was self-evident and no doubt persuaded Patterson that he had chosen correctly.
It is one thing to decide on a plan of action but quite another to carry it out, especially in the cost-conscious administration of Thomas Jefferson. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 had created a severe financial strain on the Federal government, and any excess spending was examined very carefully by the Treasury.
Patterson petitioned the president to hire Reich as assistant engraver, at a salary of $600 per year, but permission was only grudgingly granted. (The salary may be seen in relative terms by noting that skilled workmen at the Mint earned between $400 and $500 per year while Chief Engraver Scot’s salary was $1,500.) Reich began his work at the Mint in April 1807 and immediately began preparing detailed sketches for Patterson to examine.
The first tasks were twofold: a head of Liberty and a new reverse eagle on the gold and silver coinage. The reverse of the copper coinage, on the other hand, was no doubt considered of lesser interest and the resulting change was relatively slight. We know little about the new Liberty head, but in the early 1860s one of the Mint officers prepared a memo repeating an old rumor that Reich had put his “fat mistress” on the coinage. This note was rediscovered some years ago and published as an accurate statement of what happened in 1807. There are, however, reasons for believing that this comment was merely “sour grapes” on someone’s part.
In 1807, Philadelphia was a relatively small town and the educated class would have been set apart from the common laboring people. There is little doubt that Director Patterson would have known most of the well-educated people in the city. Reich, being an engraver, would also have moved in artistic circles and thereby acquainted with the same people.
With the above in mind, it is difficult to believe that, if Reich in fact had had a mistress, Patterson would have been unaware of her. In the early 1800s there were strict social standards and the portrait of a woman of questionable standing would never have appeared on the coinage. It is also worth noting that President Jefferson had numerous political enemies, including many in Philadelphia, and had the charge been true, it certainly would have been used by one of the muck-raking journalists of that era.
Moreover, because the idea to change designs had been Patterson’s and his alone, it is hard to believe that he would not have carefully inspected each step of the artistic progress. There would also have been considerable discussion among the officers and art-minded local citizens about the merits of this or that drawing before the final decision was made. That any of these people would not have recognized a “mistress” strains common sense.
The head of Liberty on the cent used to be called the Fillet or Turban Head, but these 19th century names, according to Walter Breen, do not adequately describe this particular portrait. He suggested the name “Classic Head,” originally proposed in 1868 by Ebenezer Mason. (Mason was probably born before the publication of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens because after that story appeared very few boys were named Ebenezer!)
The first coins to be made with the new head of Liberty were half dollars in the fall of 1807, the exact date being lost to history. These were followed by half eagles later that year, while the copper pieces with the Reich touch did not appear until early 1808.
It was standard practice in the early days of the Mint to use dies well beyond their appointed times, so it is likely that an 1807 Draped Bust obverse cent die was in the coining press when the year ended. It would then have been used as far into 1808 as was possible. When the die was no longer usable a new pair of dies was put in the press, in this case the Reich design.
Regardless of just when the new cent coinage commenced in 1808, striking was certainly very heavy through the entire year. Oddly enough, despite a mintage of about 1.1 million pieces, there is only one variation of note although die varieties do exist, all cataloged by William Sheldon many years ago. The most interesting 1808 die combination has an obverse with only 12 stars that appears at first glance to be an engraving error but in reality is a sunken die at the point where the 13th star should be.
(At present the Classic Head cents of 1808-1814 are cataloged either by Sheldon numbers or to the later reference by Walter Breen. Both are recommended to serious collectors of the early copper.)
According to the price guide that appears monthly in Numismatic News, in VF-20 the 1808 cent is worth about $1,250, but in lesser grades it is more affordable. In F-12, for example, the cost will be about $550. Except for the 1810, which is slightly more common than the 1808, this first year of issue has the least out-of-pocket expense.
The cents of 1808 were struck in large quantities, but this is not the only reason for its lower value. It is a general public habit to save coins of a new issue. Oddly enough, this extends only to coins of the first year and very rarely the second, creating higher prices for the second year. This tradition is still in force.
Because of lessened need for copper coins in 1809, the strongly muscled Mint workmen manning the screw presses spent much less time with copper cents than otherwise would have been the case. In all of 1809, the chief coiner delivered only 222,867 cent pieces, the lowest annual mintage since 1795. (There were more 1795 cents struck than in 1809, but most of the 1795-dated pieces were actually coined in early 1796.)
Cents of 1809 are worth more than surrounding dates. There is only the one die variety and in F-12 the tab is a strong $875 while XF-40 comes through at $3300, a price not for the faint of heart. The date 1809 has long been known as scarce and even in 1860, W.C. Prime (in his book, Coins, Seals, and Medals) rated the 1809 with a rarity of 4 out of a possible 6 as the highest. Oddly enough, he gave the 1808 the same rarity, but this was too high; perhaps many of this latter date were discovered by collectors after 1860.
There is a general collector belief, seen from time to time in various publications, that cent coins of 1808-1814 were struck on softer copper and thus wore down more quickly in daily use. This may well be true but in those days all cent planchets were imported from England, having been prepared and shipped to America by Matthew Boulton of Birmingham. So far as is known, the Boulton firm made no changes in the way such planchets were prepared so it is not at all clear why the coins would be softer.
In 1810, workmen struck just short of 1.5 million cents. A number of these were probably dated 1809, but the early 1809 mintage may well have included coins of 1808. It is one or the more common of Classic Head cents, booking at $550 in F-12. In XF-40 the cost will be considerably higher, at about $2,300.
One of the most sought-after varieties in early American coinage is the overdate, but in the case of the Classic Head cent the collector must wait until 1810 for the first example, which is 1810/09. It is not especially rare and sells for only a modest premium over the regular 1810 issue.
Although 1809 saw the lowest mintage of cents since 1795, this number
was almost immediately topped by the 1811 coinage, at only 218,025 pieces. Oddly enough, this date also has an overdate variety but here the overdate is actually more common than pieces from a normal die.
With the coinage of 1811, the Mint was now out of British-made planchets and had to wait until a fresh order for about 1.9 million pieces was received from Matthew Boulton in Birmingham. By a stroke of luck, the coins had been ordered in late 1811 and arrived just before the outbreak of war with England in June 1812. Had they been delayed by even a month, the British government would have impounded the cargo for the duration of the conflict. It is possible that an obverse die of 1811 was used for a time in June 1812 when coinage resumed, but this is mere speculation.
With the outbreak of war and slim chances of getting any more planchets for the time being, Director Patterson ordered that cent coins be struck as sparingly as possible. No one of course knew how long the war would last, and few on this side of the Atlantic seriously believed that America would actually defeat Britain.
As a date, the 1812 cent is relatively common and easily obtained for a reasonable price compared to other dates of this era. In F-12, for example, one can be obtained for about $550, and even in XF-40 the tab is just over the $2,000 mark.
The cent coinage of 1813, of only 418,000 pieces, is a clear indication that Patterson was hoarding his remaining planchets. Demand is known to have been strong that year, and it is likely that many applicants for cents were turned away empty-handed. There are two minor die varieties for the year, but there is little real difference between them. Book value in F-12 is a reasonable $550.
The Treasury ordered in late 1813 that the Mint pay out no more cents until further notice. This was done because the war had interrupted the normal supply of copper from England and Peru in South America. The increased price of copper on the American market made it profitable to melt cent coins for the necessary industrial need of copper.
The remaining 357,830 planchets from the 1812 Boulton shipment were turned into cents in the fall of 1814 but not paid out because of the 1813 Treasury order. It was not until December 1814 that the director persuaded the Treasury to rescind the directive. However, it was clear in late 1814 that the war was practically over and there was little reason to keep an emergency stock of planchets. There is an odd story, sometimes seen in numismatic publications, that the 1814 cents were struck to pay off workmen, but this is not true.
Although not struck in large quantities, cents of 1814 are relatively common, and the $550 value in F-12 backs up this statement. While all of the 1814 cents were paid out by early in 1815, it appears that many of them were saved by the public, thus accounting for their availability. It seems likely that the nearly 360,000 pieces struck in 1814 were all given that date.
The year 1814 marks the last date for the Classic Head cents. Peace was declared early in 1815, ending the War of 1812. Patterson lost little time in ordering a fresh supply of planchets from Boulton. The new planchets arrived in the late fall of 1814 and coinage resumed at once. It is likely that dies dated 1816 with the new design were used, but 1814 is possible.