1839 Booby Head Large Cent - VG+ Condition - First Year of Production - 1839 US 1 Cent United States 1839 Large Cent - Braided Hair 1839 to 1857

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.