My 1793 Liberty Cap cent

[Hoot]

One of my favorite all-time coins in U.S. history (or otherwise for that matter) is the 1793 Liberty Cap cent. First year of issue, only 11,056 known minted, and a mere ca. 200 known to survive today in all grades! This is a coin that a person can relish in any grade and no matter how the surfaces may appear.

 

The coin was designed following the insistence of the Congress, particularly the House of Representatives. On April 2, 1792, the U.S. Congress passed an “Act establishing a Mint and regulating the coins of the United States.” Before this Act was passed, the House held fast to the conviction that Liberty should be the effigy who appeared on the face of our early coinage, and not the sitting President. The Senate had attempted to strong-arm the passage of a Mint Act that would have required the latter, but fearing the reaction of the House and their ties to the constituency of their states, the Senate went along with the House vote, which was overwhelmingly in favor of Liberty.

 

As most of you know, there were several attempts at the creation of a Liberty Head cent design prior to the Liberty Cap design of Joseph Wright. However, Wright’s Liberty design was vastly superior to that of Henry Voigt, who designed the flowing hair Liberty of the chain cent, and which was modified by Adam Eckfeldt for the flowing hair, wreath cent. Wright was a well-known medallic artists who lived in Germantown, PA. He was a sculptor of some note and had experience with and sinking dies. Wright is now credited with the 1792 quarter dollar pattern (formerly attributed to Jean Pierre Droz), as well as the 1793 Liberty Cap cent design. Unfortunately, Wright died of yellow fever in late September of 1793.

 

Wright’s Liberty Cap cent also gave us the attractive wreath reverse, which lasted through 1807 on the cent. On the 1793 and 1794, head of ’93, cents, the wreath is extremely shallow relief – even more so than the head of Liberty, which was quite shallow. Due to the low relief of these cents, they wore quickly in copper, which is incredibly soft. Thus, most of the surviving pieces of modern day bear little detail and a person should be glad if any of the reverse remains, or if any of LIBERTY or the date can be read.

 

I was lucky enough to obtain one of these cents last year. These coins are not cheap, and I could afford but a low-grade example. The coin had active verdigris on its surfaces, which I removed by delicate means. The corrosion of the obverse is obvious, but in-hand, the cent can be rotated to get a good view of the profile of Liberty. Furthermore, details of the entire obverse and about 2/3 of the reverse can be discerned with the coin in-hand. The legend of the edge – ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR – is fully legible and the rims are immaculate.

 

I tried scanning this piece myself and fiddled around for some time before I asked our dear James (James_EarlyUS) if he’d be willing to photograph the coin with the skill of someone who loves good coin photography and also loves and is experienced with early cents. James’ enthusiasm was fantastic for the coin and he did a fabulous job. I give you these photos with the caveat that those of you who may not have direct experience with these pieces will think the coin is awful. I think you might change your mind with the piece in-hand.

 

One day, I may have the means to upgrade this piece, but it will always remain dear to me. BTW, I dare you all to grade it, EAC-style.

 

 

Hoot

[WoodenJefferson]

The date is readable and you can still make out some of the beaded boarder. The Liberty Cap or Phrygian Cap is discernable. I find those hats intriguing on US coinage and included a link (Hope you don't mind, no thread hi-jack intended)

 

http://www.languedoc-france.info/06141204_libertycap.htm

 

So much history lays within this coin...grade it, are you kidding, that would be best left up to the experts with early copper. Truly a historic piece!

 

Thanks for sharing

[michael]

a gem circ 93 lib cap

 

poor-1+

[MikeKing]

Hoot, great post, great story and great coin! James did a fantastic job photographing it. And WoodenJefferson, thanks for the link to the Phrygian cap.

In modern Philadelphia you might hear the expression, 'give me that phriggan cap' or 'what are you phriggan talking about'. (just joking).

 

[NoTwilight]

Great post. I'm shopping for a 93 liberty cap as I've recently decided I'm working on a liberty cap series collection. --Jerry

 

edited to add another wright mini-bio from an ongoing heritage auction:

 

1793 1C Liberty Cap VF30 PCGS. S-13, B-20, High R.3. Joseph Wright was born in Bordentown, New Jersey, in July 1756. He settled in London in 1772, returning to the United States in 1782, after making a name for himself as a portraitist. In 1783 he painted a portrait of George and Martha Washington, considered to be his most famous work. Wright also produced dies for the Major Henry Lee medal. In 1793 Mint Director David Rittenhouse appointed Wright to be acting engraver. Wright began working at the Mint in August 1793, but he was only employed for a few short weeks, succumbing in September to the vicious yellow fever epidemic that would go on to claim at least 5,000 lives. However, those short weeks were sufficient for Wright to create a lasting legacy in the minds of coin collectors. After the disastrous introduction of the Flowing Hair, Chain large cents and the marginally improved Wreath cents, Wright designed a device punch for the so-called Liberty Cap cents that is among the most loved and admired in U.S. coinage. He based the design on the Libertas Americana medal of French medalist Augustin Dupré, commemorating the American victories at Saratoga and Yorktown. Wright chose to have the head of Liberty face to the right, but as on the medal she sports the ancient pileus or Liberty cap, a symbol of of freedom.

There are six varieties of the 1793 Liberty Cap cents (S-12 through S-16 and NC-6), divided into the Single Leaf and Triple Leaf reverses. On this S-13 Triple Leaf variety, the L in LIBERTY nearly grazes the border beads, and two beads are centered over the I. This piece is on a smooth, glossy, and well-centered planchet that shows the border beads intact on both sides. The piece is largely distraction-free, save for a couple of hairline scrapes on Liberty's hair and a nick on the neck, but overall it is a nice and quite attractive example of the issue. EAC 15.(Registry values: N7079)

[SkyMan]

Good going Hoot! It's always nice to get a coin with some history to it.

[MikeInFL]

Great post, great story, and a pretty darn nice coin too. I've been on the hunt for a nice common liberty cap for a few months now, and can only guess how hard a coin the '93 is, regardless of condition. Thanks for sharing...Mike

[James_OldeTowne]

It is, unfortunately, very easy for the uninitiated collector to dismiss a coin such as this as just "so much corroded copper". But I can unhesitatingly state here that it was an honor and a privilege to have had the opportuntity to examine this exalted coin in person. The fine granularity is more prevalent on the obverse, while the reverse is fairly smooth by comparison, but within the very finite population of extant '93 caps, I actually think Mark's coin is a little on the nicer side. There are some extraordinarily ugly '93's in existence!

 

I have had the exceedingly memorable honor of once owning a '93 cap that actually had VF details, but which was substantially corroded, and had been professionally burnished and recolored to improve it's appearance. Sadly, it was a coin purchased for speculative reasons, so I had it only a very short time, and it is likely I'll never again in my lifetime be able to afford such a rare example.

 

What is terrific about this particular specimen is that the portrait is noticeably well outlined despite the grade, and more importantly, the date is clear as can be. Even LIBERTY can be read without having to resort to any imagination. Note the strong impression of the Liberty pole as well. The reverse has been pretty well flattened from passing through many Colonial-period hands, yet portions of the wreath are plainly visible in the lower left quadrant of the reverse, and occasional glimpses of additional detail occur irregularly.

 

It is an exceptionally difficult coin to photograph, because the coarse texture and matte surfaces do not reflect light well, and make it difficult to achieve just the right balance between detail and color. As Mark knows, I literally overran my camera's memory with images before settling on a few differently angled shots, and the one he has provided here is about the best I was able to achieve. Other than cropping the background out and resizing the result, this image is just as the camera saw the coin.

 

I love this copper, and am very grateful that it is owned by a true collector who can appreciate the coin for what it is, rather than what it costs (or what it grades). That can't be said of everybody, but the hallmark of a true collector is evident when he can take great pride in owning such a humble piece, and more importantly, cares to take the time to share his passion with others. Indeed, despite Mark's request, I will not even take the time to attempt to "grade" this coin, as that is of such minimal import to me. I appreciate the coin, and nothing else matters.

 

Mark, I congratulate you on being the steward of this one thin sliver of numismatic history.

[WinstonWare]

Great post & great coin Hoot

[Amanda]

Wow.

 

That is QUITE the coin. Thanks to you for sharing it with us.

 

-Amanda

[Bruceswar]

Nice coin hoot. I thought you were banned from Starting threads???

[CarolinaCollector]

A beauty, Hoot!

[bsshog40]

Very Nice Coin! Some of us can only dream of holding such a remarkable piece of time of our great American coinage!!

[AzLarry]

That is one nice "collector" coin Hoot. It is one of my favorite types, but I have never had the privilege to own one.

 

Larry

[1798CentCollector-migratio]

Hoot -

 

Wonderful 1793 Liberty Cap you have !! This coin embodies the essence of collecting coppers EAC style !!! The photography by James_EarlyUS is fantastic !! I love the Wright Liberty Caps (1793s and 1794 heads of '93) and consider them to be one of the highlights of the Sheldon series - neck and neck with the '98s.

 

Great post filled with some excellent information Re; the Wright coins, Hoot.

 

possible EAC FR2 Net. Liberty nicely defined and almost full date - very nice

[Hoot]

My thanks to all of you for your comments and for recognizing how special such cions are. Will out-live me by a long shot, so I hope to pass it along well to other collectors who can see the value in such a piece.

 

James - thank you for your comments and for your added enthusiasm. Your photos are special to me and for this coin, as they capture both the coin and depict what beauty you saw in it. Great job!!!

 

I also appreciate the value added comments form others, including the additions of Heritage's write-up.

 

As I was reading through Taxay (again), I found a reference made to the Dictionary of American Biography and a write-up on Joseph Wright. I looked up the title and found several. Looks like a trip to the library is in order, which always makes me happy.

 

Hoot

[MikeKing]

I think this post should be moved over to the What You Need to Know forum.

 

 

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just kidding!

 

Merry Christmas!

[JRocco]

What a great post and what a great coin.

 

I would love to own that coin and be able to keep it in the same condition it is in currently, until I can hand it off to the next collector who I feel will take care of it the way I would.

[James_OldeTowne]

I think this post should be moved over to the What You Need to Know forum.

 

...

 

just kidding!

 

Merry Christmas!

It's actually not such a crazy idea. I think that people need to know that there are some coins that look the way they do, and there's nothing you can do about it. There are times when "grade" and "quality" are practically meaningless, and it's suddenly the coin that's important.