Can You Dig It – US Large Cents
Published by Larry on Tagged Give-A-Ways, Instuctional, Promotional
One of the first coins struck at the US Mint was the Large Cent. The large, somewhat clunky coin was minted from 1793 to 1857 with the exception of 1815, when the mint was razed by fire and forced to shut down.
There were three design types in1793, each an attempt to improve the coin’s quality. All three types are highly sought by collectors today but in 1793 the Chain and Wreath designs met with a lot of opposition. The Liberty Cap design fared better and was struck for the next three years.
In 1796, the Draped Bust design was introduced and lasted until 1807. The elusive 1799 and the very popular 1804 are the rare coins of this series.
The Classic Head Cent ran from 1808-1814. My oldest dated metal detector Large Cent find is of this variety, an 1812, which will be this month’s blog free coin give-away. Leave a comment on any of the 74 posts to qualify for the coin drawing that takes place on the 15th of the month. While none of this series’ dates are rare, they are hard to find in nice condition. My 1812 was found at a wagon train watering-hole in what is now Palm Harbor, FL and could probably tell some great stories of travelers, soldiers and Seminole Indians stopping there from 1840 to 1880 era.
The Matron Head design appeared in 1816 and was minted through 1839. There are many interesting varieties in this series and 1821 and 1823 are rare dates. Some of the varieties are rare enough to command several hundred thousand dollars in the marketplace.
The final design type for the Large Cents is the Braided Hair version that were struck from 1840 -1857. The 1857 is both scarce as a date and popular as the last year of the denomination.
September 5th, 2008 at 1:43 am
I have yet to dig, or see in person one of these coins. I am starting to think I will have to buy one and have my wife loose it in the yard so I can find it.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Matt,
What are you using and where are you hunting? My city was not founded until 1886 and I had to research areas around here that had activity that would produce these oldies. The 1812 that you qualify for the drawing on the 15th, was found in a deep spring area in Palm Harbor, FL that was a water hole for people and animals in the early to late 1800′s. I will put picture on site this weekend. I found it in the early 70′s and until this year, it was the only oldie that I found there. But development of a housing area removed some extra soil and I found a beautiful 1861 Half featured on the blog. Happy to recommend some tips or assistance in research for your area if you email me outside the blog at: Larry@metaldetectorforcoincollecting.com
You might just win this 1812!
Larry
September 6th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
wow, you have found some really nice coins. The only coin older the 1965 that i have found is a 1895 indian head along an old stagecoach trail. The trail leads to an old general store that I have yet to search. What kind of detector do you use?
September 6th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Jake,
Welcome and thanks for visiting. I own and use detectors from most manufacturers. My favorite line for FL hunting is Fisher and my best land and water use detector is the CZ20. However, some of my best finds have come with vintage detectors. See the post on 20 Best coin finds and I spell out the instrument used in making some of my best fiends. By leaving a comment, you also qualify for the free coin drawing taking place on the 15th. This month’s coin is an 1812 Large Cent and I am putting the picture up today on the article you left a comment on. I do a lot of research to fi nd the oldies. I wish I could be with you to check out the general store area. Sounds like a good site.
Larry
September 7th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Nice coin. The oldest I found in a church yard was a 1927 M silver quarter.
September 7th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Great find Andre. One ofmy favorite SL quarter finds, a 1919 S, was in a church yard too. Keep up the good work and thanks for stopping by. This qualifies you for the 1812 giveaway on the 15th.
Larry
September 8th, 2008 at 1:08 am
Nice coin Larry. Our area is so crowded…do you usually get permission or is this public property?
Thanks, Andy
September 8th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I get permission! I got shot at on a treasure hunt with my high school treasure hunting club in the mid 70′s on property that the book, “Ghost Towns Of Florida”, told me was public land. I have a great treasure hunting permission form on the blog. Make copies and utilize it. I always offer to find any lost valuables that the property owner may have lost and that opens a lot of doors. From the 70′s up to the 90′s the water hole (that the 1812 was found) was public land. I got permission to hunt it again last November and it turned up the beautiful 1861 half that is on another post. Leaving a comment qualifies you for this months giveaway of that 1812 Large Cent.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Another great coin Larry. Interesting period in American History – early 1800′s. I like the classic head cent – reminds me of and looks a bit like a larger version of the Indian Head Penny that became popular later on. Keep on Diggin It !
September 8th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Thanks Mike! I have a collection with only about 40 different dates of the large cents. I love the history of this era of time in America. I taught US History at the high school level for several of my 31 years at TSHS. I used my coin collection as a means of talking about significant issues. A geography or history teacher today could have a fantastic venture using the State’s quarter set. Thanks for stopping by.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I found an 1825 Large Cent in nice shape in my back yard! Actually, I found it about a month ago. My house was built in 1853. I found it with a Garrett ADS 3 – the coin was only about 3 inches deep but I have loads of trash in my yard. Still trying to learn these trashy areas. I like the ADS 3 in these areas loaded with iron because I can do a quick TR reverse discrimination check by just a press of the handle toggle.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
John,
That is a great find. I love the Garrett ADS’s. I have owned 5 different models and used reverse discrimination
well with all. My favoritres are the two work horses of the series, the Master Hunter 7 & 10. I believe the depth on the MH 7 & 10 is as good as any of the new instruments. They are heavier and, as a left handed user, the controls actually work against me but I will take them over all of the oldies except for my Fisher 1260X.
Larry
September 10th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Thanks, Larry! I have an ADS 7 coming this week. Got a fair price on eBay but it took a while. These are getting rather scarce! Unfortunately, the ADS 7 is missing the TR circuit that the ADS 3 has. But I am anxious to take advantage of the 7s tone ID system and the calibrated ID meter. Plus all my ADS 3 coils will work with it! John
September 10th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
John,
That is great! I sold one of my 2 ADS 7′s a few weeks ago with 3 coils and got a good price. Ebay has many people who sell coils for the ADS machines and I have purchased every coil available at very reasonable prices.
Happy Hunting!
Larry
September 17th, 2008 at 4:08 am
Hey Larry. I live in Parker county Texas. This county had a higher rate of indian attacks than any other texas county. It was founded in 1850. I do have trouble finding the old gathering places due to development. The detector I use is the Fisher F2. It hunts deep and accurate. I have all three coils. Any tips would be great.
September 17th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
The largecent is the toughest to find in good condition. I have aears but only 3 would be G4 or better.bout 11 in 2 y
September 20th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
These large cents were made of 100% copper. I imagine it would be impossible to find one in MS,because of corrosion right? I’ve found silver coins and even clad that clean right up, but an old wheattie most always is corroded. I believe large cents are composed of even more copper than wheat cents and much older too. That being said I’d like too here from anyone that has found one in even AU.Of coarse on an old historic site to prove test of time not some coin shop caugt in a tornado find.
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:43 am
Matt,
Go online and find maps of the 1890 era. Your county clerk’s office has some good maps online. I found several potential sites from the online maps. Use the “hometown advantage” and get to know the oldtimers and the organizations they belong to. These people and their clubs, social organizations and service clubs will provide you with more leads than you can imagine. Your area looks good with some strong turn of the century small town and rural spots too.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:40 am
Larry,
Though the drawing part of this is over, I was fortunate to find an 1850 large cent down about 12 inches in clay, great shape. What made it special was that my grandfather had found an 1852 many years ago before his passing. Great info, like the article.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
i really like reading your posts about metal detecting keep it up
October 26th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Thank you Jamie!
November 15th, 2008 at 3:21 am
happy metal detecting
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:46 pm
It must be nice to live in and around Flordia. I live in Arizona where there are very few beaches to detect. We have a lot of gravel and hard dirt to dig through.