This listing is for the photographed 1823 US Large Cent, the re-struck variety (rare). Read below.
The Unofficial Restrike of the 1823 Coronet Head Large Cent (Penny) was produced by muled dies (combining dies that were never meant to be together) consisting of the 1823 obverse die and 1813 reverse die. These coins were not struck officially at the mint. Rather these broken dies were sold for iron scrap to a man named Joseph Mickley in the 1830s. Mickley acquired many of these broken dies and produced a variety of coins by muling dies and evening mixed denominations. This 1823 restrike was produced using very rusted and cracked dies which make it easy to identify. The coins were probably struck sometime in the 1860s-1870s.
The first official mintage of the large cent was in 1793, and its production continued until 1857, when it was officially replaced by the modern-size one-cent coin (commonly called the penny), with the "Flying Eagle" Design. Large cents were also made of nearly pure copper, or copper as pure as it emerged from smelting, without any deliberate addition of other metals (such as occurs in bronze).
As a response to public criticism of the Classic (Matron) Head, the Mint assigned Chief Engraver Scot to redesign the cent in April 1815, after the War of 1812. Only 2 Matron Head large cents were produced in 1815 on planchets left over from 1814. This newest design enlarged the obverse portrait, giving Liberty a much more mature look (leading to the Matron Head reference), and surrounded the portrait with stars along the outer edge of the coin. The "Matron head" design was modified in 1835 to give Liberty a younger look and matron head cents continued to be made until 1839.
Similar to the 1804 restrike cent, around the 1860s-1870s, several "restrikes" were made by a third party not affiliated with the Mint. While not genuine 1823 cents, they are nevertheless sometimes collected alongside their genuine counterparts. The restrike cannot be confused with the original, as it was minted with an 1813 reverse.
Large Cents in the US were minted for only 64 years, from 1793 to 1857, resulting in an overall smaller quantity in circulation than many other types of coins. It's a broad range with many variations to explore.
1825 Matron Head Large Cent - G (Good), Better Date! - 1825 Liberty Head Cent - 1825 US Large Cent - Matron Head 1816 to 1835